Digicross Tamers
by Patrick O'Shea
Summary: To all readers: Yes, I know what I'm doing. Yes, I have a plan. No, this isn't the end of him. Just trust me.
1. Digicross Tamers 01 So you want to be a...

==Ruins of Alph, 25 years after Digicross 

The girl walked silently through the cavern, looking intently at the marks on the wall. Beside her, an Eevee kept pace, ears alert for any sign of danger. Suddenly, the pokemon twitched. 

"What is it, Eevee?" 

Eevee looked around. "I don't know. I thought I heard something. Hitomi, you'd better use Noctowl; he can see better in here than I can." 

Hitomi nodded, pulling out a pokeball. "Noctowl, go! See if there are any pokemon hiding in here." The bird pokemon appeared, hooting softly as he looked about. Then, his eyes glowed red, and on one wall, one of the runes shimmered, revealing a black shape that seemed to be alive. 

[CG Pokedex sequence] 

"Unown type 'T'. Little is known about these creatures, though it is believed that they can affect reality with their psychic powers. It is rumored that as their numbers increase, so do their powers." 

[End Sequence] 

"An Unown? YES!" Hitomi pulled out a pokeball, and threw it at the creature. However, it rippled and vanished again before the ball could hit. "Noctowl, can you find it?" The bird flew around, but couldn't spot it. "Nuts." Hitomi checked the time on her pokegear watch. "We'd better get going, dad'll be getting nervous soon" she sighed. 

"Ahh, it's only because he cares" Eevee replied. The trio exited the cave, heading to a group of tents. 

"Professor Hale! We're back!" 

A tall, attractive woman came out of one of the tents, wavy blonde hair swaying in the light breeze. "Hitomi, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me 'professor'? It makes me feel old! You are allowed to call me Ms. Hale, or even Molly, if you want!" 

"Ah...sorry. I'm ready to go home now, if that's alright." 

"Of course it is. Did you see anything down there?" 

Eevee nodded. "Yep. Saw a 'T'-type Unown, but it got away before we could catch it." 

Molly Hale's eyebrow arched. "An Unown? They're pretty rare. What happened?" 

Hitomi answered. "Well, Noctowl picked one out using Foresight, but it vanished before I could get it with a pokeball. Sorry." 

"Don't worry about it. They're pretty slippery. Believe me, you have no idea what Unknown are capable of. Even I don't know all the answers, and I'm the only one here with any practical experience." A rumble from the tent could be heard. Molly sighed. "Alright Ursa-chan, I'll be there in a few minutes." 

"Ursaring getting moody again?" Eevee asked. 

"You know him. That old bear always gets grouchy when he's hungry. Or when I call him 'Ursa-chan'. Come on, I'll take you to the research center." After stopping to feed her Ursaring, Molly Hale walked out, took a pokeball off her belt, and opened it, revealing a large Fearow. The bird pokemon cawed loudly, eager to take to the air. Hitomi recalled Noctowl into his pokeball, let Eevee climb up on her shoulder, and climbed on Fearow behind Molly. 

"Let's go!" 

[Opening sequence] 

Song: OK! (Pokemon 3rd opening) 

Digicross Tamers   
"Episode 1: So you want to be a Tamer!" 

After Professor Elm retired from active pokemon research, the research center in New Bark Town floundered a bit, especially in the wake of all the drastic changes that had happened after the Digital World was revealed. New laws had to be made, Team Rocket had to be halted from grabbing stray digimon that crossed over, and the various Leagues had to deal with the fact that many trainers had creatures capable of rapidly upgrading their attack power. That one Charizard/Gargomon match at Indigo, for example...The rules never covered monsters that had gattling guns on their arms. But this writer digresses 

Hitomi entered the lab, looking for a familiar face. There had been a lot of new hires lately.... 

One person, a red headed gentleman, recognized Hitomi and greeted her. "Hitomi! How are you doing?" 

"Uncle Izzy! Hi!" She ran up and hugged her 'uncle', Koushiro 'Izzy' Kamiya. "Where's Aunt Kari?" 

"She's taking Ryoko and Kyoko to Goldenrod. Emiko's sleeping in the bedroom, and I really don't want to have to put her back to sleep again. What brings you by?" 

"Eevee and I were just headed home. Is it OK if I use the portal?" 

"Should be. Just one sec while I check the connection. You're heading back to Stone Town, right?" 

Eevee answered. "Yeah, she promised mom we'd be home by dinner." 

"Heavens forbid I should get between a pokemon and his dinner" Izzy joked. He checked his computer, and replied "OK, it's all clear. Say hi to Kyle and June for me!" 

Hitomi nodded, and held up her digivice. "Digiportal 2, OPEN!" 

Neither Hitomi nor Izzy noticed the odd shape on the back of Hitomi's backpack start to ripple as the energy from the portal flooded over it. The last thing Hitomi clearly recalled was a strange sensation of being pulled...sideways...as she was pulled through the portal. 

==Digital World. Not the one that Hitomi knows, mind... 

Calumon ran, madly zigzagging in a vain attempt to get away from Maildramon before the armour digimon trampled the small creature under its metal hooves. Calumon was saved at the last minute when another digimon tackled Maildramon. 

Extending his ears, Calumon floated up, watching the two digimon fight. Then, there was a bright glow as the reptilian digimon abruptly changed shape and became stronger. As he changed, a second flash of energy caught Calumon's eye, and he saw two...no three figures appear briefly. 

"Someone to play with? I hope they're nicer than Maildramon!" Hopeful, Calumon flew towards the newcomers, falling through the portal that opened up before the hapless travelers. 

==Pokeworld 

"HITOMI!" Izzy yelled, but he was too late. The young girl and her Eevee were caught in the energy from the portal, and Izzy watched as the two were caught in a freak energy wave, and vanished. Almost immediately, the phone started ringing. Numbly, Izzy picked up the phone. 

"Izzy?" Kyle Ellison's voice came over the phone. "What happened? The computer at my house showed a portal opening, and then it blew up. Is everything alright?" 

"Kyle...Hitomi was using the gate..." 

==And, in a different world altogether. 

Nami Asaji rubbed her eyes. It had been a long, LONG day, and the marks that she had recorded for the last month had somehow transformed from her usual neat, flowing strokes to some form of spidery, half blurred script that made no sense. 

"That's it, I need a break." Sighing, Nami saved what she had done ejected the disk, and started to push away from the computer, thinking a quick nap and some food might help a bit. That was when the computer started to act oddly, to put it mildly. For a second, a bizarre graphic that Nami didn't recognize appeared, and then the monitor did something most monitors don't normally do. 

Out of the screen, a young girl, maybe about 11, appeared. She had short red hair and was dressed in an odd outfit; long sleeved jacket, red t-shirt, knee length shorts, and was accompanied by what looked like a small puppy, but with a thick white mane and large brown and white tail. Both were unconscious. 

==Pokeworld. 

Izzy worked frantically at the computer, trying to track where the portal had sent Hitomi. SO far, he had determined that the portal had opened, and she had been dropped somewhere, but for the life of him, he couldn't determine where. 

On impulse, Izzy looked behind him. In the center of the lab, a sphere of bright blue energy formed, as Mewtwo teleported into the lab. "I sensed danger," the guardian said, "so I came as soon as I could. What has happened?" 

"Hitomi was using a digital portal to get home, but there was some sort of energy wave. And I still can't find her!" 

"Calm down. The other guardians and I will help in any way we can. Azulongmon is already scouring the Digital World, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon are probing what they can of the Dark Ocean. If she is there, she will be found." 

"And you?" Izzy asked sharply. "Sorry, I..." 

Mewtwo held up a paw. "Do not concern yourself. I came because I am more familiar with this side of the portal, as well as some of the phenomena in this area. I may be more help here than in the digital world." 

"We'd better get started then," Izzy said. "I've already called Gary, he's going to be coming down, and Kyle and June won't be far behind." 

==Tokyo. Not the one Hitomi's thinking of, either... 

Nami Asaji finally sat down, exhausted. She'd carried the young girl and her...pet? into her guestroom, where they were resting. As she had carried them, a small red object had fallen out. She held it in her hand, studying it. It was rectangular, and had some sort of concentric circle design on the front. 

"Some kind of computer?" she wondered. She found a catch, and opened the cover. Seeing a button marked 'ID', she pressed it, hoping for a clue. Instantly, a metallic voice started speaking. 

"I am Dexter, a Pokedex registered to Hitomi Motomiya. Please return to the nearest Pokemon Center if found." 

"That told me a lot," she said to herself. She couldn't get past that screen, though. There was some sort of code preventing access. Getting up, she walked to the guestroom. "Who are you" she asked out loud. Then she noticed that the small animal wasn't where she left it. "Now where did...I hope that thing's housebroken-" Her train of thought was derailed by a hard impact on her back. She was knocked down, tried to roll over-   
  
And found herself being attacked by the small puppy. 

"OK lady, where are we and what did you do to Hitomi?!" 

"You...you can talk?" 

"Yeah, and I'm housebroken too. This isn't Stone Town, and if you've done anything to Hitomi, I swear I'll..." 

"Easy, Easy! I'm not responsible!" The absurdity of the situation struck her. First a girl appears out of her computer, now she was being threatened by what looked like a talking stuffed animal. Surreal to say the least. "You both appeared out of my computer unconscious, I swear I didn't do anything to either of you! You're in Tokyo, Japan, planet Earth!" 

The animal relented. "Tokyo? Oh, that's OK then." He then realized what he was doing. "Oh, uh, sorry about that.." 

"No, no, it's alright." What else do you say to a stuffed animal? 

"Nrrr...Eevee, where are we?" The girl, wakened by the noise, sat up. 

"Hitomi!" Eevee said, running to the girl. "Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine, I'm fine." She looked at Nami. "Who are you?" 

"I'm Ms. Asaji, I'm a school teacher here. Umm, if you don't mind my asking, where did you come from?" 

"Oh, I'm from Pokeworld, don't worry." 

Nami looked confused. "Pokeworld? What's that?" 

"You know, Pokeworld. Where pokemon come from? Other side of the Digital World?" Hitomi was starting to get scared. Everyone knew about the Pokemon World... 

"Digital World??" 

"Sure, you know." Hitomi checked her pocket. "Where's my Digivice?" 

Eevee looked around. "I'll check" he said, hopping down from the bed and running into the living room. After a minute, he came back, object in his mouth. He tossed the object up to her. "It was under the computer, must have fallen out and tumbled back there when we came through." 

Nami looked at the device as Hitomi held it. It was grey with white handgrips, had a small screen on it, two triangular buttons by the screen, and a small black antenna. "Where have I seen that before?" 

"Huh?" Eevee said. "It's a D-3, everyone knows that." 

Nami didn't like the way this conversation was headed. Something about what Eevee said tugged at her mind. "Could you excuse me a minute? I need to check something." Nami went over to her bedroom, where her briefcase from school was. Opening it, she pulled out a large manila envelope marked 'Confiscated'. Necessary policy, some kids had been filching some of the more expensive items from her desk. She opened it, and pulled out a smaller envelope, marked 'Takato'. She opened that, and pulled out a set of game cards, and looked at them. The first card had 'D-3' on the top, and matched the object Hitomi now had. The second card, 'Portal', matched the image on her monitor just before Hitomi came through. Nami sat down, stunned. 

"Ms. Asaji?" Hitomi asked from the doorway.   
  
"Yes?" 

"Um, I'm really sorry about all this. If it's all right, I'll just go back the way I came." 

"Oh, sure." Nami watched as Hitomi and Eevee walked over to the computer. Hitomi held her digivice up, and it stated to beep. 

"Digiport Open!" The graphic formed on the computer monitor, then it started to blur. Energy shot out, and enveloped Hitomi. She screamed, writhing in pain as the energy seemed intent on tearing the girl apart! 

"Hitomi!" Eevee said, tackling the girl. The attack knocked Hitomi clear, and the portal dissipated. "Hitomi, wake up! Can you hear me??" 

==New Bark Town 

"BLAST IT!" Izzy shouted. 

"What's wrong?" Gary asked. Professor Gary Oak was another specialist that had been called in to help out with the current crisis. 

"I almost had it, but I lost the signal! Now what do we do?" 

"We keep looking. I managed to trace the signal, I think we can find it again." Gary surveyed the partially burnt out gear. "But we're gonna have to do a lot of repair work." 

==Tokyo, HYPNOS Main lab. 

"Any sign of that new signature" Yamaki asked the two ladies. 

One of them replied. "There was a brief energy surge, but we lost it before we could trace it. It was not another bio-emergence as we initially thought. The signal originated outside the realm the other digimon have appeared from." 

"Keep trying to trace it. If this is something new, I want to know about it as soon as possible." 

The other lady spoke up. "Sir, I have confirmed that the new signal definitely came from our dimension. However, I still have not traced its exact location." 

The man toyed with the cigarette lighter in his hand. "Is it similar to the prior emergence?" 

"No, this was like nothing we have detected before." The two ladies went back to work. 

==Nami Asaji's apartment. 

"Hitomi? Hitomi, wake up!" 

"Nrrr....Aunt Kari...?" 

Nami blinked, not recognizing the name. "No, it's Ms. Asaji. Are you alright?" 

"What...what happened?" 

Eevee hopped up on the bed Hitomi was resting on. I don't know. As soon as the portal opened, there was some kind of energy surge. I knocked you clear, and the portal vanished." 

"Then I'll just have to try it again" Hitomi said. She tried to get up, but Ms. Asaji put a hand on her shoulder. 

"While you were out, Eevee and I talked. Hitomi, what year is this?" 

"2025, what kind of question is that" Hitomi replied, confused. 

"A serious one" Eevee said. "It's 1999." 

Hitomi blinked, not believing what Eevee had said. "that can't be..." she pulled out her pokegear, trying to call home. The screen blinked, synchronizing with the local cellphone network, but didn't connect. 

"No....no..." Hitomi started shaking. "I have to get...home..." She started crying. 

"Hey, don't worry" Eevee said, trying to console his trainer. "I'll get you home. Promise." 

"And you can stay here until you figure out what to do" Nami said. Hitomi and Eevee looked at her. "Hey, it's small, but I can room one extra. Just make sure you hide, Eevee, right?" The pokemon nodded. "The landlord's not too big on pets." 

"PET!?? I resent that!!" 

Despite the situation, Hitomi and Nami chuckled. "I take it back" Nami said. 

"Ms. Asaji, I appreciate what you're doing. But what do I do now?" 

Nami thought for a minute. She looked over the girl, making a few mental calculations. Then, smiling, she asked "how's your algebra?" 

==One week later 

"Are you sure about this" Hitomi asked uncertainly. "I don't have any records or anything." 

"Don't worry" Nami replied. "I pasted the information from your Pokedex into the school computer." Nami smiled, pleased with herself. "One of the advantages of being a sub for the computer teacher. I have you in my class, but I'm only in there once or twice a day." The two stepped into the classroom. 

Ms. Asaji cleared her throat. "Class, I would like to introduce a new student. This is Hitomi, and she will be joining your class for a while." 

Hitomi blushed slightly, and bowed. "Hello everyone." 

"Hitomi, please take the seat by Hikaru." Hitomi nodded, and took the seat indicated. Hikaru introduced herself, and her friend Jeri. 

After everyone was settled, Ms. Asaji took her seat, got her lesson plan and books out. She cleared her throat, and in a calm voice said "You can come in now, Takato." A muffled "D'OH!" could be heard outside, then young boy walked in. 

-He looks like Takeru-chan- Hitomi thought, remembering her cousin. She snapped out of it, as Ms. Asaji started the course. -I promise I'll come home, mom, dad-.   


Ending: "Never Too Far From Home" (Totally Pokemon CD)   
Next Episode: Think Hitomi's settled in? LIKE HECK! A chance encounter with Takato, Guilmon, Rika, and Renamon leads to a fight, and we learn just who's holding Kyle's digiegg these days...Next on Digicross Tamers,   
"Eevee vs. Renamon!"   



	2. Digicross Tamers 02 Eevee versus Renamo...

Digicross Tamers Episode 2  
"Eevee versus Renamon!"  
  
Calumon flew through the city, searching for something to do. The truth was, once the initial thrill of seeing this new world wore off Calumon was bored. Bored silly, as a matter of fact.  
  
"Oh" Calumon whined. "I wish there were some other digimon here. All I've seen are those weird metal beasts that spit people out." He landed on the ledge of a low building, depressed. Then he heard a strange squeaking noise. Looking in the direction he heard the noise from, he could just make out an odd shape. "Who's there?" he asked cautiously.  
  
The Unown, still disoriented from its dimensional transit, slowly approached Calumon. Its body rippled, and it made more of those odd squeaking noises. A youth, as Unown measured these things, the pokemon was unsure of what to make of this strange creature.  
  
"You're not much on conversation, are you" Calumon asked. After an offended sounding noise, he said "sorry. Hey, want to play?" This time, the Unown made a more inquisitive noise, which the digimon took as an affirmative. "Yay! Let's play tag! You're it!" Tapping the Unown, Calumon took off. The Unown went in pursuit. It was bored too, after all.  
  
==  
  
Hitomi gathered her books up, getting ready to walk home. She didn't notice Takato Matsuda walk up to her. "Hey, Hitomi?" Hitomi looked up at the boy. AS she did she noticed that he was wearing...goggles? "Um, look, I hope I didn't upset you or anything at lunchtime."  
  
Hitomi blinked. At lunch, she had seen Takato and two of his friends playing some sort of card game. She had received a rude shock when she saw that it was a Digimon card game, and that Takato had played an Elecmon card. "Oh, it's not your fault" she said. "I just felt a bit homesick, that's all."  
  
"Oh? You knew someone who played the Digimon card game?"  
  
Hitomi smiled weakly. "Something like that." Takato nodded and left, saying that he had 'something to take care of'. A few minutes later, Ms. Asaji entered the room. "Was that Takato that just left?"  
  
"Yes. He said sorry about what happened at lunch."  
  
The teacher smiled. "He's a good kid, but a little digimon happy. I'm sorry, I should have warned you about that card game. Listen, there's an emergency meeting about that whole fire alarm thing this afternoon, so you'll have to go home ahead of me. You have the key to my apartment?" Hitomi nodded. "Good. This shouldn't take more than half an hour, we're probably just going to put the principal and the cafeteria staff back together."   
  
"What happened anyway?"  
  
"Oh, someone raided the cafeteria kitchen, cleaned it out, then scared the daylights out of the principal. Probably some kids pulling a prank." The two said goodbye, and Hitomi left the school grounds.  
  
Once outside (and clear of any spectators), Hitomi pulled out a pokeball, and opened it, releasing Eevee. "Ah, it's good to stretch my legs like-" He stopped as Hitomi clipped something around his neck. "Uh, Hitomi? What's with the leash?"  
  
"Sorry" Hitomi said. "They have a leash law here."  
  
"This is humiliating."  
  
"Oh, relax you crybaby. Let's go through the park, Ms. Asaji said it's nice there."  
  
"I bet Growlithe never had to put up with this..."  
  
As they left, Terriermon hopped down from his perch. He had seen the two leave. "I didn't know digimon came in pocket size," he said. He hopped down and entered the school. He had to tell Henry about this. And delay going home as much as possible.  
  
Anything beat the 'Princess Prettypants' routine.  
  
===  
  
"Are you going to fight or not" Rika demanded. So far, she wasn't impressed by what she saw. A boy, wearing goggles no less, and his dinosaur. How quaint. Beside her, Renamon waited silently.  
  
"Why should we fight? We never did anything to you!"  
  
"I said fight, not debate. Renamon, make this quick." The fox digimon nodded, and jumped towards the two.  
  
"SKULL BASH!" Renamon sensed the newcomer a split second before it hit, twisted in midair, and dodged the surprise attack. As she landed, she saw what looked like a small...puppy? A few seconds later, a redheaded girl ran up behind the puppy. "Eevee, what happened?"  
  
The puppy responded. "This overgrown featherduster was picking a fight with that dinosaur."  
  
Hitomi looked at the dinosaur, and recognized the boy with it. "Takato?"  
  
"So, you're his girlfriend come to bail him out" Rika asked sarcastically. "Fine. Renamon, walk all over them."  
  
"Bring it on" Eevee snarled. "I'm not gonna lose to an overgrown Vulpix with delusions of grandeur."  
  
Renamon cocked an eye. "I'm being insulted by a plush toy. How droll." Sensing Rika's impatience, Renamon jumped again, hoping to surprise Eevee with an air attack. Eevee dodged the attack, and tried to counter with a headbutt. -He's good- Renamon thought, -but why doesn't he feel like a digimon? -  
  
A few feet away, Rika was having the same feeling. She had tried to get a reading on Eevee with her digivice, but got nothing, the same as with that dinosaur. "Is this thing busted?" She saw that Renamon was having little success against Eevee. "Renamon, snap it up! I don't have all day."  
  
==  
  
Ms. Asaji came out of the meeting, still a bit annoyed. Listening to the kitchen staff complain about the 'obvious security breach in the kitchen area' was bad enough, but listening to the principal gibber about a large red dinosaur running around the halls was something else.  
  
For a moment, she wondered if it could be something that followed Hitomi. She dismissed it, sure that she would have noticed a big red lizard coming through her computer screen. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a young boy running outside the door to the teachers lounge. She got up to admonish the boy, but stopped as she saw what looked like a small dog with impossibly large ears on the boy's back, hanging on to the boy's collar and saying something about a redheaded girl...  
  
"Hitomi" Nami breathed, leaving the lounge.  
  
==  
  
Renamon frowned slightly, then jumped up, away from Eevee. As she did, a field of leaf shaped arrowheads formed around her. "Diamond Storm!"  
  
"Eevee" Hitomi called, "Use Protect, now!" The pokemon obeyed, calling up a force field that deflected the attack. The force still made Eevee grunt a bit. "Are you alright?"  
  
Eevee moved back to Hitomi, keeping the attacking digimon in his sight. "She's tough," he said quietly. "For a rookie, she could give Garurumon a run for his money. Got to be a high level, but I can't figure why she hasn't digivolved." Eevee shook himself, and moved back towards Renamon. "Not bad" he said, "but I've seen better moves on a Sneasel."  
  
"Sneeze this" Rika growled. "Digi-modify! Targeting activate!" Renamon glowed for a second, then fired off another Diamond Storm, which Eevee was barely able to dodge.  
  
"Digi-Modify?" Takato looked at Renamon and her Tamer. "She can modify her digimon with cards from the game." This, a feeling that Hitomi and Eevee shared, surprised him.  
  
"Digi-modify" Rika called again. "Angewomon's Celestial Arrow Activate!" As Hitomi and Takato watched, they saw a bow form out of Renamon's arm, using the same motions that Hitomi had seen the Angewomon of her world use.   
  
"Eevee, LOOK OUT!"  
  
"Celestial Arrow!" The bolt shot down, striking the ground just in front of Eevee, who tried to get clear of the attack. The explosion flung the digital pokemon towards a large tree. For a second, Hitomi feared the worst, but then saw Eevee recover, and managed to roll with the force of the impact on the tree.  
  
Eevee ran down the tree, charging right at Renamon. "Rolling Tackle" he called, tucking into a ball and slamming into Renamon, who was knocked back by the assault. The two monsters, both injured and winded, stopped for a second, recovering. Calming down a bit, Eevee said "not bad...for an overgrown feather duster."  
  
"Likewise, for a smart mouthed UFO catcher doll." Both monsters tensed, ready to resume fighting.  
  
"Both of you, stop it!" Everyone there looked to see another boy enter the clearing, as well as a woman that Hitomi and Takato recognized.  
  
"Ms. Asaji?" Takato gasped. -That's it, I'm toast- he thought.  
  
"What's going on here" the teacher demanded. Eevee's cry of 'they started it' didn't help much.  
  
"It's getting too crowded here" Rika said. "Come on, Renamon, we'll finish this later." Rika and Renamon left.  
  
"Are you alright?" the boy asked Takato.  
  
"Henry? Boy, am I glad you're here."  
  
"Henry told me what was going on" Ms. Asaji said. Looking at Guilmon, she went on, saying "I would like to know what your role in this is, Takato."  
  
==5 minutes later  
  
"So you drew him, and he just...came to life."  
  
"Well, yeah." Takato never dreamed he'd be explaining Guilmon's creation to his teacher.  
  
"And that girl came out of nowhere, and just started attacking Guilmon." Takato nodded. Nami rubbed her forehead, sighing. "Why am I not surprised you're in the middle of this."  
  
"It not Takatomon's fault" Guilmon said, standing up for his Tamer. Nami smiled, patting the red digimon on the head. "You're nice" Guilmon said. "She doesn't act like a Goburimon" Guilmon said.  
  
"GUILMON! That's the gym teacher!" Takato said without thinking.  
  
"Oh brother" Nami and Hitomi chorused, palming their faces.  
  
As the humans talked, Terriermon walked over to Eevee, who was resting. "Hey there, saw the tail end of that fight. Nice move."  
  
Eevee looked at the digimon. "I never expected to see a Terriermon" he said, half surprised. Digimon appearing here might mean a way home for him and Hitomi.  
  
"Whaddaya mean 'a' Terriermon? I'm THE Terriermon, lean mean digi-fighting machine!" Eevee started chuckling as Terriermon took up a fighting pose. "By the way, I love the look. Who does your fur?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, Hitomi, she grooms me every night."  
  
"Whaaa? Hey, Henry" Terriermon called, "You never groom me!"  
  
Henry looked over to Terriermon. "I could let Suzie handle it" he said, smiling darkly.  
  
"Now that's just rude" Terriermon sniffed. Eevee shook his head. Nothing like Willis' Terriermon.  
  
After a few more minutes, Nami stood up. "So what now, Takato? Will you take Guilmon home?"  
  
Takato shook his head. "Mom'd freak out. There's an old shed I was planning to let him stay in for now, it's just up this path."  
  
"Are you sure about that" Hitomi asked. "He'd be on his own a lot."  
  
"Hey, I trust him" Takato said. "Besides, mom won't let me keep a goldfish. I don't think I can get a big red dinosaur by her."  
  
Nami looked at Takato. "A big red dinosaur...was Guilmon the one running around the school today?"  
  
"It was fun" Guilmon said. Takato groaned.   
  
==  
  
"What happened back there" Rika demanded angrily. "I can't believe that little hairball lasted against you that long."  
  
"You think size matters" Renamon shot back.  
  
Rika refused to take the bait. "And how come I couldn't get any information on either of those digimon?" She looked at her D-Arc, wondering if it had been damaged somehow.  
  
"I didn't recognize either of them" Renamon said. "And there was something...wrong about that creature."  
  
Rika stopped walking. "What do you mean, wrong? If this is some sort of excuse-"  
  
"Digimon," Renamon said, cutting Rika off, "can sense one another. That creature did not feel like a digimon. I think it might have been something different."  
  
"It doesn't matter. You will be the best" Rika said. "The next time you meet that little rat, you will load his data."  
  
-And that's it?- Renamon wondered. "Of course."  
  
==  
  
After making sure that Guilmon was safely hidden, the children had all gone home. Hitomi and Nami were walking back to the apartment, talking. "Were those digimon from your world" the teacher asked. "If they made it here..."  
  
"I don't think so" Eevee said. "I never heard of anyone creating a digimon just by drawing one. Or by powering one up by swiping a piece of cardboard."  
  
Hitomi was checking her pokedex. "And there's nothing about a Guilmon here." Her shoulders slumped a little. "For a moment, I thought there might be a way home. If digimon were appearing here, then there might be a portal, something I could use."  
  
"Ah, don't worry" Eevee said. "We'll get you home."  
  
"Hitomi" Nami said quietly. The girl looked back, not noticing that the teacher had stopped walking for a few seconds. "Are you going to start fighting digimon? Like that girl?"  
  
Hitomi blinked. "No...why?"  
  
"I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all. I'm responsible for you here..."  
  
Eevee piped up. "Hey, I can handle myself. OK, we're in a foreign dimension where nutsoid digidestined are after us, we're cut off from the rest of our team, there's no pokemon center nearby, I've gone a good week and a half without any pokenip, we don't recognize any digimon here...what could go wrong?" Hitomi started to answer, but Eevee went on. "Don't interrupt, kid. Did I or did I not help out when Vadermon nabbed Emiko? Did we or did we not come out on top when Clockmon attacked? And who handled that Virus Garurumon?"  
  
"That was Takeru-chan and Sagittarimon!"  
  
Eevee blinked. "Ah, I let him have that."  
  
"You were unconscious!"  
  
"I said I LET him! Those two needed the experience!"  
  
Nami was trying not to laugh. "OK you two, that's enough. We're home now."  
  
==  
  
"She had a what?"  
  
"I'm telling you Henry, it was a D-3, I'm sure of it!" Takato, Henry, and Terriermon were also headed home. As they walked, Takato related the details of the fight they had just witnessed.  
  
"That's nuts" Terriermon said. "That was just on the TV. You sure that girl didn't kick you in the head?"  
  
"No, it was clipped to her belt."  
  
Terriermon got a sly grin. "Oh? Was her belt the only thing you were looking at?"  
  
"Terriermon!" Henry gave his digimon a sharp rap on the head. "I don't know where he gets that from. Sorry about that" he said to Takato.  
  
"I know what I saw" Takato said stubbornly. "I hope that other girl doesn't find Guilmon."  
  
"She's the one I'm worried about. From what I saw, she's been at this a while. Plus..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I gotta check something" Henry said. "I'll see you tomorrow." Henry turned down a street. "Watch yourself."  
  
"Thanks" Takato said. As he walked home, he could hear Henry chewing out Terriermon. "I wonder if I'll ever be like that with Guilmon?" He walked a few more steps, then added, "without the smart mouth." Shaking off images of a wisecracking Guilmon, Takato entered the bakery his parents owned, and started trying to explain why he was so late.  
  
==Next Day. Saturday, if you must know. Well, I guess you must, seeing as it figures into the story (sounds of a scuffle...)  
  
Hitomi and Eevee were walking home from the park. They had visited Guilmon and Takato, and had learned a little more about the card game from the two.  
  
"Weird, isn't it?" Hitomi said. "Everyone we know being on cards."  
  
"Yeah. We'll have to show Veemon that one card of him. I still say they got his nose wrong."  
  
"And that card with Matt on it" Hitomi replied, smiling. "Uncle Davis will be crushed there's not one of him, though."  
  
"Maybe we should see about getting royalties or..." Eevee stopped. "Something's coming. Over there!" The two looked east, and saw a large fogbank appear out of nowhere. It was shaped like a dome, and the two could just make out some kind of explosion coming from it. Without speaking, the two ran towards it.  
  
"What do you think it is?" Hitomi asked as they reached the edge of the field. "I can't see anything through this fog."  
  
"Try Noctowl" Eevee suggested. Hitomi nodded, and released the owl pokemon. Noctowl cawed loudly, then his eyes glowed red, the light cutting through some of the fog. "Let's go!"  
  
Inside, the fog cleared a bit. As she closed on the center, she saw a strange object moving around. It seemed to be spinning around, looking for something.  
  
"DIAMOND STORM!" As Eevee, Noctowl, and Hitomi watched, a hail of shots impacted on the creature, injuring it. Hitomi's eyes finally adjusted, and she recognized the digimon. "That's a Tankmon!"  
  
"Very observant" Rika said, walking into view. "But I'm too busy for a rematch."  
  
"Be careful" Renamon called. "The second one's here somewhere."  
  
"DUCK!" Eevee yelled, tackling Rika. A powerful energy blast passed through the space Rika was occupying a second before, hit a tree, and destroyed it.  
  
"Get off me" Rika snarled.  
  
"You're welcome" Eevee shot back. The Tankmon that shot at Rika took aim at Hitomi. "Hitomi, Tankmon's a champion. I'd better digivolve!" Rika stopped complaining when she heard Eevee speak. Renamon and the Tankmon she was fighting seemed to stop too. Hitomi pulled out her D-3, which was beeping now. Rika could just make out a small figure on the screen.  
  
-A digiegg?- she thought. -And a D-3?-  
  
"Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Eevee, armour digivolve to...Templarmon, Loyal Defender!" The digimon was humanoid, covered in brown fur, and looked like something out of a cyberpunk game. His chest, forearms, and lower legs were covered with silvery armour, on his left arm was a rectangular shield, in his right hand was a short rod. On the chestpiece and shield the crest of Loyalty appeared in blue.  
  
"He...digivolved" Renamon said, stunned. She snapped out of it, and attacked the Tankmon she was battling before. Already weakened, it fell, and Renamon quickly absorbed Tankmon's data. Then she turned to watch Templarmon and Tankmon battle. "This should be interesting" she said quietly.  
  
Unaware of the other fight, the armoured pokemon feinted a few times at the digimon. Frustrated, Tankmon launched the first attack. "Hyper Cannon!"  
  
Templarmon raised his shield, and blocked the shot. "My turn! Shock Bomber!" Running forward, Templarmon jumped, twisted in midair, and hit the digimon with an electric punch. Tankmon swiveled, bringing his cannon to bear. Templarmon jumped again, shouted "Thunder Baton" and hurled the rod, charged with electricity, at Tankmon. The digimon was covered in an electrical haze, and passed out. "Got him."  
  
"Now what" Hitomi wondered. "I don't have any pokeballs with me. They're all at Ms. Asaji's place."  
  
"What are you talking about" Rika said. "Just load his data."  
  
"What?" Templarmon and Hitomi asked. Noctowl regarded Renamon, having seen what Renamon had done to the other Tankmon.  
  
"Load his data. How else are you supposed to get stronger? Tell metalhead there to finish off Tankmon and load his data."  
  
"WHAT KIND OF SICKO FREAK ARE YOU" both shouted. Rika stepped back. They had never *heard* of loading data before? How had that...rat been able to digivolve?  
  
Noctowl shrieked a warning. Tankmon had recovered, and was charging the group. Renamon jumped, fired off a diamond storm, and finished off the digimon. Then, as everyone watched, Renamon absorbed the energy that was released with the destruction of the second Tankmon. Hitomi couldn't speak.  
  
Rika saw the expression. -They really don't know- she though, half surprised. "Lesson's over. Next time, finish the job" she said coldly. Around them, the digital field dissipated, and Templarmon devolved back to Eevee. Rika and Renamon walked off. Hitomi was still standing there when Henry and Takato came.   
  
==That night  
  
"She just...blew him away" Hitomi told Nami. "She...absorbed him, said that was the only way to get stronger..." Henry had come over as well, hoping to explain what had happened.  
  
"Well, that is the only way for digimon to increase their strength" Henry said sadly. "I don't like it any more than you, but there it is."  
  
"That's...barbaric!" Nami said.  
  
"It's not like we had a choice in the matter" Terriermon said. "It's just the way we are. If you think this is bad, you should see some of the guys in the Digital World." Terriermon shuddered, remembering his last fight with Gorillamon. "They're nuts!"  
  
"Well, now what" Nami asked. "There's no way I can allow this to happen. You're all just kids, I don't want you turning into some sort of psychotic gang that blows up everything that might look like a digimon."  
  
"No worries here" Henry said. "I think I can make sure Takato understands too. What we really need to do is figure out why the digimon are coming here. Any thoughts" he asked, looking at Eevee.  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Well, you're a digimon, right? What made you come here?" Henry couldn't understand why Hitomi and Ms. Asaji suddenly looked like they were trying to hide something.  
  
"Hitomi was in trouble. What more is there?"  
  
"Right." Henry got up, headed for the door. "Well, I'd better get home; Mom's got dinner ready. See you on Monday."  
  
"Thank you" Hitomi and Nami said.  
  
Outside, Henry looked at Terriermon. "Well?"  
  
"Takato was right, it was a D-3. Guess I owe him an apology."  
  
"That'll be the day. There's something else going on here. I need to do some checking when we get home. Can you keep Suzie out of my room for about an hour?"  
  
"Henry! That's cruel and unusual!"  
  
==  
  
A few hours later, Hitomi was getting ready for bed. Nami had set up a small cot for her, off to one side in the living room. It was a bit small, but the girl had slept in worse. On the table above her cot, Hitomi had a small picture, of her and six other children, all around her age. Under the cot, Eevee was already asleep. Noctowl was resting in his pokeball.  
  
Nami walked up, also ready for bed. "You doing alright?"  
  
"Yeah. Today just shook me up a bit, that's all."  
  
Nami looked at the picture. "Are those your friends?"  
  
Hitomi nodded, taking the picture. She pointed to one boy that looked a bit like Takato. "That's my cousin, Takeru Motomiya. The boy with short purple hair is Samuel Inoue, and the two redheads are Kyoko and Ryoko Kamiya. That's Asuka Melin standing by Sam, and that's Hiroki Hida, trying to look inconspicuous."   
  
"Are those digimon with them theirs?"  
  
Hitomi nodded again. "Yes. The small blue one is Veemon, Takeru's partner. The green one, that's Wormmon, Sam's partner. The white cat is Kyoko's partner Gatomon, and the black cat is Sneasel, Ryoko's partner. The digimon on Asuka's head is Patamon, and the little guy at Hiroki's feet is Armadillomon. And you've already met Eevee."  
  
"Sounds like you had an adventure" Nami said, smiling. Hitomi nodded, and told her friend the story behind the picture.  
  
Next Episode:  
Henry does some checking on Rika, while Rika learns a few unsettling things about Hitomi. Hypnos takes a more active role, and Takato and Guilmon face a desperate battle. Next on Digicross Tamers:   
-'Digital Secrets.'


	3. Digicross Tamers 03 Digital Secrets

==Hypnos main lab. 

"Daddy, look! The TV's going all funny!" No, Yamaki thought, no...not again.... 

Two figures, indistinct but immediately recognizable, appeared. One, a large, dragon-like monster roared and started attacking. The smaller figure appeared, tried to stop the monster. As Yamaki watched, the boy pulled out a small device, pointing it at the monster. 

"Dad! Get out of here!" Flames surrounded the pair, then a glowing white light. Where the two stood, a new figure took their place. Small, mocking figure. 

"This is what digimon do! BADA-BOOM!" An explosion... 

Yamaki sat up, breathing heavily. He realized he was in his office, not his...home from two years ago. He'd had the dream again. 

"I'll show them what humans can do" Yamaki swore darkly. 

Digicross Tamers 03   
'Digital Secrets' 

==Sunday 

Rika sat in her room, annoyed. 

Granted, that was her usual frame of mind these days, but today marked a new level of irritability. Her grandmother had noticed it and decided to give her time to cool down. Her mother was off on a fashion shoot. 

All this gave the girl no way to vent her frustration; mentally, she replayed the battle she had with the Tankmon yesterday. It was going well until that other girl showed up. To make matters worse, she managed to digivolve that little rat, without using a single card. And to top it off, those two didn't even know about loading an opponent's data. 

It made no sense. A D-3 instead of the digivice Rika used, and a -digiegg- of all things..."Renamon." Renamon phased into view, waiting for Rika's command. "What happened last night?" 

"We both know what happened" Renamon replied. "And no, I don't know where that digiegg came from." 

"Are there-" 

"Digieggs" Renamon said, cutting Rika off, "are an invention of that TV show. All the 'armour' digimon I've fought evolved normally, without such a device." Renamon hoped Rika didn't catch the emphasis she put on who did the actual fighting. "That....Eevee might not have been a digimon as we know it." 

"That's stupid. Next you'll be telling me that girl had a French poodle and a ventriloquist act going." 

Renamon's eyes narrowed slightly. "It was not a normal animal. Neither of them was. Digimon can sense when one another is nearby; I got a different feeling from Eevee. And that owl that was with her." 

"She's got two digimon with her" Rika said flatly. "This just gets better and better. Where are you going?" 

Renamon looked at Rika. "I need to find out something. Call me if something comes up." Renamon faded away. 

==Wong Household. 

Terriermon was mortally afraid. He sat on the bed, wishing he could do anything, ANYTHING to escape what he knew would come. The door creaked slowly open, and Terriermon knew his fate was sealed. 

"Hewoo, Tewwiermon" Suzie said. "It's time for your beauty tweatment." 

-Henry, you owe me for this!- 

In his own room, Henry heard the muffled noise of his little sister playing with his partner. "Sorry Terriermon" Henry said, "I'll make it up to you. But you'll make sure of that." He typed away, checking the net for news of the last few tournaments. After a few minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for. On the screen was a scan of a newspaper clipping, the headline proclaiming that the newest Digimon Card Tournament winner had been crowned. Alongside the article, a picture of Rika, scowl and all, was shown. 

"Thought I recognized her" Henry said to himself. He printed out a copy of the news article. "Lovely. Takato picks a fight with last year's Digimon Card tournament winner." Something occurred to him, and he ran another search. None of the local news sites had the data he was looking for. In desperation, he tried the weather archive, and found what he was looking for. 

++Weather-Japan.com   
++Weather anomalies baffle meteorologists (xx/xx/xx)   
++Scientists are baffled by the occurrence of what can   
++only be described as 'free-floating fog banks' that   
++have started appearing within the last few weeks.   
++These banks, which spontaneously appear and disappear,   
++have been plaguing Tokyo for several weeks now. To   
++date, no explanation has been found for this meteor   
++-ological anomalies. Complicating these reports are   
++several crank calls about people seeing monsters inside   
++these banks... 

Henry glanced over the rest of the article. "That sounds like a digital field" he said quietly. He looked at the date stamp; "this was just after the tournament. I wonder if that's a coincidence?" 

Looking at the clock, he saw he had time for one more search. He called up several metasearch engines, and ran a check for 'Eevee', as well as 'Motomiya Hitomi'. Both came up nil. 

"Hitomi I can see not appearing, but there must be an Eevee card somewhere." Henry turned several possibilities over in his mind, then tried again, this time at an American site that specialized in digimon. Nothing again. On an impulse, he tried 'Eeveemon', but still turned up nothing. In desperation, he logged into a message board, posted a message to the rumor list about a possible 'Eevee' card, and signed out. 

"This doesn't make any sense" he muttered. "It's possible she created Eevee the same way Takato created Guilmon, but why doesn't she have a D-arc like the rest of us? A D-3, right out of the TV series..." A brief thought ran across his mind, but Henry dismissed it immediately. "Nah, even for this place, that's just impossible." He got up, left the room. 

Outside, he saw what happened to Terriermon after Suzie 'Got Through With Him'. 

Dress, bib, and bonnet. Terriermon's eyes clearly said "don't even THINK of laughing." To his credit, Henry didn't. Yet. 

== 

Hitomi, Eevee, and Nami had left earlier that day for a walk. Still shaken by the events of yesterday's battle, Nami had hoped that a quick tour of Tokyo wold calm the girl down a bit. Noctowl had opted to stay behind; being a nocturnal pokemon, Noctowl preferred twilight hours for flying around. Plus a giant owl flying around would attract some suspicion. 

Besides, Noctowl didn't feel like going out today. He scrunched his head down, and dozed off. 

Silently, so silently that there wasn't even a rush of wind, Renamon appeared in the apartment. Quickly, she looked around, saw Noctowl sleeping. -That complicates things- she thought to herself, as she quietly walked over to a folded up cot. As she walked, Renamon cast a casual glance around the room. -Hasn't been here long,- she noted, -and not expected either.- She noticed a small pile of books and assorted detritus, hastily moved from where the cot was. On the table by the cot, she saw several unusual things. 

The first item that caught her eye was the photo. Renamon crouched down, looking at it. Her eyes widened a bit; Hitomi and Eevee she recognized, but those other children with her also had digimon. Instinctively, she knew that the photo was not doctored or forged. Always with an eye for deception and illusion, she saw that the photo was real. 

They look so happy, she thought, with a slight pang of jealousy. Shaking it off, she turned her attention to the small spheres on the table. Carefully picking up one, she gave the pokeball a quick examination. These must be those pokeballs Hitomi mentioned last night, she thought. Unwilling to press the button on the front, she replaced the item and looked at the third item. 

It was rectangular, with a circle-in-a-circle design on the front. On the top was a stubby black antenna. Picking that up and turning it over, she saw a small inscription: 

'Welcome to the club! K&R' 

As she looked it over, she accidentally triggered the cover release, opening the front of the pokedex. "I am Dexter" the metallic voice announced, "A pokedex registered to Hitomi Motomiya. Please return to the nearest Pokemon Center if found." 

Snarling, Renamon looked around. The owl was not on its perch. The fierce raptor's cry came from behind her, just as a sharp impact struck the digimon on the back of her head. Renamon rolled with the tackle, and faced Noctowl. "Take it easy" she said quietly. "I don't want a fight. Yet." 

Noctowl was able to understand the barb, and his wings slowly spread out, faintly glowing, Renamon noted. And yet... 

"You're not a digimon, are you?" she asked, not expecting an answer. Noctowl didn't move, did not stand down. "What are you?" Still nothing. Moving slowly, Renamon placed the pokedex back on the table. Then, she backed slowly to the window. "Please forgive my intrusion" she said, vanishing. 

Noctowl held his position for a minute, scanning the area. As familiar with deception and illusion as Renamon, Noctowl took no chances that Renamon was still in the apartment. When he was satisfied that she was gone, Noctowl returned to the small perch it was resting on earlier. The owl's head twisted around, as Noctowl thought about what had happened. 

So, she suspects something, Noctowl decided. Not enough to figure everything out, but enough to get suspicious. Noctowl hopped over to an open window, and flew out. 

== 

Calumon was having the time of his life. 

When he had come to this world, he had felt a combination of exhilaration and fear at being in an unrecognized place. That combination had faded into confusion as he had not seen any other digimon, then boredom as he realized that he had no one to play with. 

Then he met Unown. 

"Come on, let's keep going" Calumon called, flying through the air. Behind him, the Unown, having the time of its life, chirped in merriment, following Calumon around. The two had managed to reach some sort of understanding; Unown had easily been able to understand what Calumon was saying, but the alien language the pokemon used had taken a bit of getting used to. Somehow, Calumon had managed to pick up the basics. 

For several minutes, the two flew through the air, just enjoying themselves. They zipped through the city, though no one looked up to try and figure out where that odd laughter was coming from. Eventually, the two found a secluded area and landed. 

"That was FUN" Calumon exclaimed. "What should we do now?" 

Calumon recognized the pattern of noise Unown made. "Eat? OK, but where? Those apples I found were nice, but that mean human chased me off! By the way, what's a 'freeloader'?" More noises from Unown. "OK, we'll find something else to eat." 

"Well, well, what have we here" a new voice, full of disdain and arrogance said. Calumon and Unown looked at the source of the voice. 

It was clearly a digimon; a bit taller than Calumon, he was black with a white face, thick, pointed tail, and matching ears. There was a red bandana around his neck, and a yellow caricature of a 'have a nice day' face with pointed teeth. "Gahh" Impmon said sarcastically, "the cuteness level is makin' me wanna puke. So" he said, conversationally, "do I just load your data now, or do I gotta fight ya for it?" 

Unown squeaked, curiosity evident. "Data? What's that" Calumon asked. "Wouldn't an apple or something be tastier?" 

"You've got to be kidding me" Impmon said, more to himself than anyone else. "Nothin' personal kiddos, its just business. BADA BOOM!" A fireball shot at Calumon, who only just managed to evade the attack. 

Unown squealed angrily, glowing an alarming rainbow shade of energy. "What's that supposed to do?" Impmon sneered. The sneer turned to shock as the energy bolt struck the digimon in the chest, shooting him backwards, slamming Impmon into a post. Agitated, Unown surrounded Calumon in an energy field and the two flew off, fleeing the attacker. 

"Oh sure...run away..." Impmon groaned, peeling himself off of the post. 

==City Park 

Terriermon, having recovered from the latest encounter with Suzie (and delivering the usual threat of billing Henry for the therapy sessions) was horsing around with Guilmon in the park. Henry and Takato were discussing what they had managed to find out. 

"I got challenged by WHO" Takato half shrieked. He and Henry were discussing last night's attacks, and what Henry had learned since then. 

"Quiet, will ya" Henry said, motioning Takato to keep quiet. 

"Sorry, but...wow...the Digimon Queen herself...And she was so good, too." 

"Yeah," Henry agreed, "she must have been at this since the last tournament." At Takato's confused look, Henry shared what he had found out. "There's a long way between being good at a card game and winning an actual battle." 

At that point, Guilmon stuck his head out of the bushes. "Takatomon, I'm hungry!" 

"You just ate" Takato replied. Guilmon just cocked his head in a 'yeah, so?' way. Sighing, Takato took a bread roll out of the pack he had brought and gave it to Guilmon. "I wonder if this is how Yolei felt?" 

"She was feeding a whole team" Henry said, catching the reference. 

"Guilmon eats like a whole team. Of in-trainings!" The two humans chuckled at the thought. "Hey, Henry. What are these 'digital field' things anyway?" 

"I don't know. I think they're a result of the digital world interacting with our world. When Terriermon appeared, the floor of my room was covered in fog. I'm willing to bet there was a lot of mist around when Guilmon appeared." Takato nodded. "Thought so. There's more. According to the report I read, those digital fields are forming mostly around here. And they're becoming more frequent." 

"And each one has a digimon in it?" Takato was stunned. "Guilmon's a handful, but what if something huge comes through, like Greymon or Ankylomon?" 

"As long as the field stays intact" Henry replied, "the digimon usually leave when the field dissipates. But I am worried about it, yeah. Much as I watch the TV show, I'd hate to have Wargreymon versus Machinedramon, round 2, in my front yard." Henry's face grew serious. "Takato, did you notice anything...odd about Hitomi?" 

"How do you mean? She seems nice enough, a bit weird, yeah..." Takato trailed off. Henry arched an eyebrow, inviting him to continue. "Well, I sorta gave her an introduction to the card game on Saturday, even took her through a battle with a deck I loaned her." 

"So?" 

"I have never seen such a hopeless card player" Takato said. "I mean, she makes me look good! Hey," Takato noticed Henry's exasperated look, "you did ask. And, in a way...she seemed to know about digimon, but it's like she's never even heard of the card game. When I first showed her a card on Friday, she kinda freaked out. Sounds silly, I know..." 

"Like you said, I did ask" Henry said. "Well, I'd better get home. Come on, Terriermon, let's go!" 

"Do I gotta?" Terriermon whined. 

"Either I sneak you in now, or I tell Suzie where I left you." 

"Blackmailer." The two left. 

Takato watched Henry and Terriermon leave. Then he looked, saw Guilmon resting on the ground. "Come on boy, let's go for a walk!" 

==Hypnos main lab 

"Sir" Reilly's voice came over the intercom. "We've finished analysis of the new signals." Yamaki got up, left his office. 

As he stepped out of his office, he looked over the exterior of the Scanning Dome. Outside, it looked like a roughly spherical mass of wiring and electronics. Around it, a host of technicians worked, trying to decode any of a number of countless packets of data. Walking inside, the wires were gone, with only a clear, 360-degree 'screen' that could locate any source of electronic interference anywhere. "Well" he said to Reilly, voice hard. 

Reilly's face didn't flinch. "As you know, we've been tracking the appearance of these 'Wild Ones' to a particular level of the net, here" she indicated a glowing point on the screen. "But, these new signals do not come from that point." 

"Then where from?" 

"Nowhere, sir" Reilly replied. "They just appeared, vectoring though the area the other creatures appear from. We were able to identify three discreet signals, all possessing some form of biological signatures." 

"So what? We already know these 'digimon'," Yamaki said the word as if it were a curse, "can manifest a form of pseudo life." 

"No sir" Reilly replied, a bit coldly. "I am familiar with the phenomena, but these signals indicated that whatever came through was -already alive-. It was not formed from digital information." 

"What then" Yamaki asked, more curious now. "Little green men from Mars?" 

"No. I'd guess human" Reilly replied. "As you know, we had another bio-emergence Saturday, this latest one reading as having two Wild Ones bio-emerging. Before the signals were neutralized, we detected an energy surge that matched the signal from a week ago." 

Yamaki considered this. "So it's here and neutralizing Wild Ones." Idly, he toyed with the lighter in his hand, thinking. 

"Correct" Reilly replied. "But it does not match the pattern of the other signal that's been attacking Wild Ones. Likely, it is someone who just came here." 

Yamaki nodded. "Have our agents on the lookout for anything new. If they sight another field forming, they are to observe only, not interfere. If we can capture one of these things after it emerges, we can analyze it." A sound behind him caught his attention. "Talli, what are you doing away from your post?" 

The second operator looked at Yamaki. "Sorry sir, but I just got word from the analysts. That signal we tracked last week? We've been able to separate it into four distinct signatures!" 

"Four?" Yamaki made an effort to stop from yelling. 

"Yes. One definitely emerged from the net, where the other Wild Ones we've been tracking have been coming from. The other three have yet to be tracked; two definitely have bio signatures before materializing, the third one...we don't know." 

"Explain" Yamaki snapped. 

Talli flinched a bit. "We didn't see it at first, its signal was lost in the background noise. But it does not have a data signature matching any Wild One we've tracked, and it does not have a bio signature like the two unknown signatures. It's almost like a roving anomaly." Talli was interrupted by a klaxon. The two women ran back to their posts, and started scanning. "Of all the rotten..." she started. Reilly cut her off, saying "Bio-emergence detected. Single signature, power class 'B'. Location...It's going to appear in the park!" 

== 

Takato walked along the path, Guilmon running alongside him. "Man, challenged by the Digimon Queen herself. How do I get into these messes?" 

"Just lucky" Guilmon asked. 

"Thanks." Takato sighed a bit. "I just wanted to have a digimon of my own, and now the local champion is trying to mop the floor with us. I...Guilmon?" Guilmon had stopped a few paces back, staring at something just down the road. As Takato watched, Guilmon's yellow eyes narrowed, and he had started growling like an attack dog. "Boy?" 

"A digimon" Guilmon growled. Then he took off. 

Takato ran after Guilmon, who had charged through a lot of underbrush towards some unknown destination. Then, without warning, he ran into a fogbank. "A digital field" Takato breathed, remembering what Henry had told him. Pulling his goggles over his eyes, Takato went further in. "Guilmon? You in here?" A shadow caught his eye. "Guilmon?" Takato got hit by something large, and was knocked over. 

The figure that tackled Takato giggled crazily. "Catalyst. Where is it??" 

"CataWHAT?" 

A loud snarl caught the two's attention. "Get off of Takatomon" Guilmon roared. "PYRO-SPHERE!" A ball of fire knocked off the digimon attacking Takato. 

Takato scrambled up, pulling out his digivice. It beeped, then a picture of the digimon Guilmon was attacking appeared. "Sepikmon" Takato read. "Armour level wizard digimon, data type. Special attacks are Spirit Boomerang and Charming Dance." So caught up in seeing yet another digimon, he almost missed Guilmon launching another attack. Guilmon jumped onto Sepikmon, clawing at the digimon like an attack dog. "Guilmon! STOP IT!" 

Guilmon seemed to snap out of the rage that held him. "Takatomon? Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Guilmon ran over to Takato. "You OK, Takatomon?" 

"Aside from nearly having my head taken off by a fireball" Takato replied. "Why are you attacking Sepikmon?" 

"Don't know. I just couldn't help myself." 

"Couldn't...?" 

Sepikmon watched the two. "You are..partners, yes?" 

Takato looked at the wizard digimon. "Um...yeah. I did sort of create him and all." 

Sepikmon tensed. "Create...? ABOMINATION! You will die, you and your...mockery!!" 

"I think he's mad, Takatomon." 

"You're telling me!" Sepikmon hurled the oversized boomerang at the two. Takato and Guilmon clumsily dodged the attack. 

== 

Some distance back, Rika and Renamon watched the battle as it unfolded. "This is so pathetic" Rika muttered. "Come on, let's get in there." 

"No." Rika looked at Renamon, surprised. "Let's see how those two do, first." 

"What's going on here? You've been acting weird ever since this afternoon." Rika looked at Renamon suspiciously. "Just where did you go today, anyway?" 

"This is more than just a simple battle" Renamon replied. Seeing she was not going to get any more, Rika let it go, and watched. 

== 

Guilmon tensed again, the urge to fight almost unstoppable. "Takatomon?" 

Takato nodded. "Get him." Guilmon growled again, and charged in. As Takato watched, he saw that Guilmon was still acting like a wild animal. "How can I help him" Takato wondered out loud. "I just wish I...hey!" Takato remembered when Renamon attacked Guilmon. "Rika was able to use cards from the game to help her digimon. Maybe..." Takato reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out several game cards. "Let's see...ah, here we go!" Takato looked, saw Sepikmon ready to strike. "Digi-modify! Defense Plug-In F, activate!" 

"Spirit Boomerang!" 

Takato watched as the boomerang flew at Guilmon, who knocked it aside with a shield that appeared on his arm. "It worked!" 

Sepikmon roared, calling his boomerang back. "Charming Dance!" Sepikmon began to dance around, and both Guilmon and Takato couldn't help but watch. 

"I feel sick Takatomon!" 

"Probably all that bread you inhaled" Takato said, trying not to throw up. "Try attacking!" 

"Pyro....gurrrr..." Guilmon couldn't launch an attack. "Too much bread..." 

"You're mine" Sepikmon shouted, readying to strike Guilmon with his boomerang. Spirit-" The raptor's cry cut Sepikmon off. Noctowl, hoping to find Hitomi and Eevee, had seen the battle and intervened. Noctowl swooped down and stared at Sepikmon, daring the digimon to attack. "Fine" Sepikmon said. "Spirit Boomerang!" Noctowl flew up, dodging the attack. Sepikmon watched as the Boomerang swung around, coming behind the unsuspecting interloper. 

With another cry, Noctowl parried the attack with a strike of a glowing wing. The boomerang shattered as Sepikmon watched, stunned. "Another one-" 

"Pyro-Sphere!" Guilmon's attack caught Sepikmon unawares, and knocked the digimon down. Recovered, Guilmon moved in, covering Sepikmon. "Ready to surrender?" 

"N...never...abomination" Sepikmon retorted. 

"What's all this abomination stuff" Takato demanded, now angry. "Guilmon's a digimon, just like you!" 

"NO" Sepikmon roared. "Bad enough that...thing was created by a child! But to see him fawn over a human is...revolting!" Takato was taken aback by the venom in Sepikmon's voice. "We are NOTHING alike!" 

"Takato! Guilmon!" Takato heard a group of voices coming towards him. "That sounds like...Henry! And Miss Asaji!" 

"More humans?" Sepikmon snarled. "DIE!" Rolling, Sepikmon knocked over, and made ready to launch a final attack. 

"Terrier Tornado!" 

"Rolling Tackle!" The two attacks hit Sepikmon, hurling the digimon through the digital field. With a slight 'pop' noise, the field dissipated. With a sickening crunch, Sepikmon hit a tree, and slumped to the ground. 

"You alright" Henry asked, running up to Takato. Takato nodded. "Terriermon said he sensed a digimon appearing in the park. I ran into Hitomi and Miss Asaji on the way" he explained. 

"What happened?" Nami asked Takato. 

"You...will fall" Sepikmon groaned. "I am but one of many. You will fall to the So..." Sepikmon passed out, and discorporated. The three humans watched as Sepikmon's data floated up, and vanished. 

Next Episode:   
Convincing Hitomi and Henry to help, Takato tries to learn the basics of battling other digimon to defend himself and Guilmon. But, an unexpected appearance of a digimon teaches Takato a few lessons in digivolution as well. Next, On Digicross Tamers:   
'Fire Fight' 


	4. Digicross Tamers 04 Fire Fight

Digicross Tamers Episode 4   
'Fire Fight'   
Opening: 'Type: Wild' (Pokemon) 

==Hypnos main lab, Friday morning 

Yamaki turned and faced the man that had addressed him. "Good morning sir" he said, formal and humorlessly. "Is there a problem?" 

The man shook his head, taking off the glasses he wore. "Not yet. We've been monitoring your progress on these so called 'Wild Ones' you've been tracking." 

"And as I've said in my reports" Yamaki said hotly, "we do not have the resources to deal with these threats. Yet. What we need is to capture some of these things and analyze them. Once we know how these things work, we can better deal with them." 

"A live capture?" 

Yamaki snorted. "If they truly were alive." At that point, an alarm sounded in the monitoring room. Yamaki walked over to an intercom, and hit the transmit button. "Report." 

Talli's voice came over the speaker. "A new Wild One is emerging" she said. "Attempting to localize it now." 

"Where's Reilly?" 

"It's her day off, sir. I've been trying to contact her, but there's some form of interference." 

==Tokyo park, a bit earlier. 

It was a nice day; to top it off, there was a professional development day scheduled today. IN other words, it was a Friday off for the kids. Henry, Takato, and Hitomi were in a secluded part of the park, doing something which no other digidestined group, in any dimension, had even considered doing. 

Training. Granted, this amounted to nothing more than an upgraded game of 'tag' between the three digimon there, and the Tamers were discussing how to use the cards (not that Hitomi could, at any rate), but give them some credit. How often did you see Agumon practice how to aim? Or make sure Gabumon didn't impale anyone on that horn of his? Or Gatomon not to shred the easychair? Anyway... 

"So any card can be used in your digivices" Hitomi asked. "That must be handy." 

"Yeah. It's too bad you only got a D-3" Takato said. "So, if I swipe a card like Wargreymon, will Guilmon get all his power?" 

"'Fraid not" Henry replied. "You'll get an attack that's a bit more powerful than a rookie level attack, but not by much. It's more useful to change attack types." 

"Attack types?" Takato blinked, confused by the term. 

"Sure" Hitomi said. "Say you're fighting a Meramon or a flame using digimon. Then you'd want to use an ice or water type attack to counter it." 

"Or," Henry added, "you can use a defensive attack, like Wargreymon's shield, or Gatomon's hypnosis attack." 

"What about this card" Takato asked, holding up an 'Ultra Digivolution' card. 

Henry's face went grim. "Trust me, you don't want to mess with that sort of thing." 

Some yards away, the game of tag continued. "GOTCHA!" Guilmon tackled Eevee, nearly flattening the pokemon with an overeager tackle. The others came running. 

"Umm...little overkill there, bud" Takato said. Hitomi picked up the semiconscious pokemon. "Umm...sorry about that." 

"Oh, he'll be fine," Hitomi replied. "He just needs a good rest for a while. Right?" 

"That and a new spine, thanks" Eevee croaked. 

"Oh, moumantai, you big baby" Terriermon said. "It's not like he made like a sumo wrestler." 

"Moumantai?" Hitomi blinked, not recognizing the word. 

"It's his way of saying 'take it easy'" Henry explained. 

"Well, why don't we have Guilmon jump on YOUR back and see how easy you take it" Eevee replied. Terriermon stuck his tongue out at Eevee. 

==Across town 

Rika followed the signal on her digivice, the holo-compass leading her to another digimon. A part of her wondered what she'd face this time. That boy and his dinosaur? Rampaging Allomon? Musyamon? Or Hitomi...annoyed, she sighed loudly. She hated leaving fights unfinished, and for all she knew, the girl and Eevee were training as hard as she was, and would be all that more difficult to beat. In addition was the disturbing things Renamon had told her about where Hitomi was living and what she had with her...The beeping from her D-Arc got louder, indicating she was almost there. But she didn't see any sign of a digital field... 

"TAG!" 

Rika nearly fell over, more from surprise than actual impact. Whirling around, she saw Calumon and Unown there. "T...tag? Who...?" 

Calumon looked up, blinking. "Hi! You look sad, maybe I can cheer you up?" 

-Great- Rika thought to herself, -I've got a digital Muppet from Sesame Street here. - She took out her D-Arc, and tried to get a reading on the creature. "Nothing? OK, this is getting old. Who are you?" 

"My name's Calumon! Want to play?" As he spoke, a second creature appeared beside him. The Unown made that odd squealing noise, seeming to edge back from Rika. "You're name's not Hitomi, by any chance, is it?" -Her AGAIN?- Shocked, Rika watched as the second creature floated up, single eye (she guessed) looking at her. Then it squealed again. "Oh, you're not. Never mind." 

Rika blinked, shaking her head. "OK, this has gone far enough. Drop the cute act and tell me what the heck's going on here!" 

Calumon tilted his head, looking hurt. "I just want to play with someone." 

Renamon materialized. "Rika? What..." Renamon stopped, looking at Calumon. "You're kidding, right?" Then she noticed Unown, and seemed to freeze. "Rika, I need to talk to you. Now." Before the girl could protest, Renamon gathered Rika up and jumped away, carrying her tamer to the nearest rooftop. 

"OK, well, I guess I'll see you later" Calumon said, watching the two leave. Then his stomach grumbled a bit. "Hey, want to find some food" he asked Unown, who nodded in midair. 

On the rooftop, Rika tore herself out of Renamon's grip. "What was THAT all about" she demanded angrily. 

"That creature" Renamon said. "Not the white one, the floating squiggle. It felt a bit like Eevee." 

Rika stopped. "Another one?" 

"It wasn't exactly like Eevee. It was definitely not a digimon, nor was it native to this world." Looking over the ledge, the two saw Calumon and Unown leave the area, almost careening into an apple cart as they left the alley. 

-I can't believe I'm doing this- Rika thought to herself. "Looks like we're playing tag with Calumon and Unown." Ignoring Renamon's baffled look, Rika took out her digivice and started looking for Calumon. 

The search didn't take as long as Rika had feared. Renamon had pointed out that Calumon seemed to have two basic motivations: playing, and eating. So Rika started for the nearest sources of food, and soon found a terrified shopkeeper that claimed that a flying white rat had taken some apples, apologized, and left with what looked like a flying inkblot. Renamon spotted a discarded apple core, and the pair soon tracked down Calumon and Unown. 

"Be careful" Renamon said. "We don't know how they will react. Diplomacy might be better than Diamond Storms here." 

"Great." Rika walked down the small alley, deserted at this time of day. At the end, she saw Calumon and Unown sharing the last apple. Watching Unown...absorb the apple was an unusual experience. The apple seemed to float up a bit then vanish somewhere into the Unown's body. 

Calumon saw Rika, and his ears extended. "Rika, you found us! Well, I guess I'm 'it' now." 

"Wait" Rika said. "Before you go, I need to know something. How do you know Hitomi?" 

Unown began making that odd noise again, Rika guess it to be that creature's mode of speech. "Unown knows her. He says that if she ever catches him, she'll take him back home with her and he won't be able to play with me any more." 

"Back home...you mean to the digital world?" 

Calumon shook his head. "No, Unown means to the place where Hitomi comes from." Unown 'said' some more, and Calumon translated. "He says there was this nice place he was resting, then Hitomi and these two pokemon appear trying to catch him, but he hid then decided to see where they were going so he hid in her backpack and then they went to this place she called a 'pokemon center' and there was this big corridor of light and he panicked and there was this flash and..." Calumon stopped, realization hitting him. "Hey, I did see you. You were going through the digital world when that mean, nasty Maildramon was chasing me. You and Hitomi and Eevee. Wow! What a coincidence!" Unown squeaked, apparently pleased. "Well, I'm going to go rest now, it was nice talking to you Rika. See ya!" Calumon's ears seemed to stretch a bit, and the digimon, followed by Unown, flew off into the afternoon sky. 

"That was abrupt" Renamon noted. 

Rika shot a scowl at her partner. Then, fighting down the irritation, said, "Not from the digital world...where else could she be from?" 

== 

The digimon felt the call...the light was near, it could feel it. Gathering its considerable strength, the digimon managed to breach a hole between the worlds. There was strength to be found, strength and digivolution. As the hole widened, it could feel a part of the digital world itself rush alongside it, filling the area with a dense fog. 

== 

"A digital field" Henry said, watching as the fog formed around the group. 

"How big do these fields get" Hitomi asked. 

"Depends on the size of the digimon entering this world." Henry felt his heart sink as the fog continued to pour out. A short distance away, the three could see a column of light appear, shooting through the center of the fog. 

Hitomi winced as the light, refracted by the particles in the fog, dazzled her a bit. Then her eyesight adjusted. "It's going to appear right on top of us!" 

"Guilmon!" Takato called. The others looked and saw that Guilmon was staring intently at the light, growling fiercely. "Come on, get back!" Takato ran over to his digimon, and began pulling Guilmon back. Terriermon and Eevee ran over. As they watched, a digimon stepped out of the light. It was large, reptilian, and...pink? 

"Tyrannomon" Hitomi said, recognizing it immediately. "How did it get here?" As they watched, the Tyrannomon looked around, seeming to search for something. "What is it looking for" she wondered. 

The Tyrannomon looked at the group, seeming to notice them for the first time. Then it saw the digimon, and snarled loudly. "I think it's looking for us" Terriermon said, scared. The monster stepped forward, ready to attack. A blast of flame from Tyrannomon confirmed Terriermon's observation. 

"Digi-armour energize!" 

"Eevee, armour digivolve to...Templarmon, loyal defender!" Takato and Henry watched the digivolution, still unable to believe what they saw. -It's like they stepped right out of the TV show- Henry thought absently. 

Beside him, Takato pulled a card out. "Ready Guilmon" Takato asked. The digimon nodded, eager for a fight. "Digi-Modify! Offense Plug in V activate!" Guilmon glowed red for a second, then fired off his own attack, boosted by Takato's card. The fireball slammed into Tyrannomon, driving the digimon back a few steps. "Yeah! That's how to do it!" Unfortunately, this also had the effect of forcing Tyrannomon to reclassify the humans as threats now. Straightening up, Tyrannomon looked at Takato, and moved to attack him! 

"Look out" Henry yelled, shoving Takato out of the way. The two narrowly dodged a second fire blast from Tyrannomon. 

"Leave Takatomon alone" Guilmon yelled, running up and biting Tyrannomon. Angered by the pain, Tyrannomon kicked Guilmon off, turned to face the humans again, and got a snout-full of electricity as Templarmon unloaded his Shock Bomber attack. 

"Come on, you wannabe Greymon, come and get some more" Templarmon taunted, daring Tyrannomon to attack. 

== 

Several yards away, Reilly, taking a break from her duties at Hypnos, watched the battle intently. Her digital camera had already captured shots of the tamers there, and their digimon. "What is going on here" she wondered. "I wish I could make out what they're saying." A slight buzz came from her cellphone. Relieved that she had switched off the ringer, she opened the phone. 

"Reilly" Talli's voice came over the speaker, "where are you? The board's going nuts!" 

"I'm at the site now" Reilly replied. "Have Yamaki send over a response team. There's a battle between several Wild Ones here, and I think there are some humans involved too." 

Yamaki's voice came over the phone. "Negative. Stay there and observe only. We're not equipped to deal with Wild Ones yet. Try to determine what the humans are doing, and report back as soon as possible." the connection cut out. 

"Lovely," Reilly said to the phone, and resumed watching. 

==Hypnos headquarters 

Yamaki cut off the connection, thinking. "Sir" Talli protested, "we have to do something, she's trapped out there! What if one of those things goes after her?" 

"As long as she stays clear, she'll be fine. Digimon are only interested in one thing, defeating and absorbing other digimon." He turned to leave. "I'm going out. I'll handle this personally." 

==Park 

"That's it, keep swinging" Templarmon kept taunting Tyrannomon. "I've fought Numemon that were tougher than you!" 

"Sure enjoys egging him on" Takato observed, stepping back from the fight. 

"I just hope he doesn't get overconfident" Terriermon said, watching. "Tyrannomon are supposed to be really fierce when they get going." 

As Templarmon feinted and distracted Tyrannomon, Guilmon, powered up with another card, launched a wave of ice at the giant reptile. Staggering, Tyrannomon roared again, swinging his tail and catching Guilmon on the side of his head. The rookie digimon went flying, landing several yards away from the battle. 

"Guilmon" Takato yelled, running to his partner. 

"You're fighting ME" Templarmon yelled, slamming his electrified baton into Tyrannomon's side. The two traded strikes for a few seconds, until Tyrannomon, getting lucky with a claw swipe, managed to catch the armoured pokemon with another tail swipe, and knocked him into a tree. Templarmon glowed, and reverted to Eevee. Hitomi ran over to get her partner clear of the fight. 

"Looks like it's up to me" Terriermon said, jumping out of Henry's arms. "Unless you want tall, pink, and fiery to use us for snacks!" 

"No" Henry yelled. "I won't risk it, there has to be another way." 

"Like-" Terriermon said, turning to face Henry. As he did, he realized what a mistake he had made. Tyrannomon punctuated that lesson by kicking Terriermon back into Henry. The two were knocked back, dazed by the impact. 

Looking back, Takato saw that Tyrannomon was now threatening Hitomi and Henry, and neither of their partner digimon were able to fight. "Only one thing to do" he said, going over to Guilmon. "Come on boy, we have to fight off Tyrannomon. Wake up!" 

"It dinner yet" Guilmon asked groggily. 

-He's too weak- Takato realized. "I'm sorry, but there's no other way." Takato pulled out another card. As he did, Henry, recovering, saw the card that Takato pulled out, recognizing it from the picture on front. Henry started to shout a warning, but Takato was already using the card. "Digi-Modify! Ultra Digivolution activate!" For a second, nothing happened. Then... 

"Guilmon, digivolve to...GROWLMON!" 

== 

Reilly almost fell backwards, watching the transformation. "What was THAT" she nearly shouted. As she watched, the two giant reptiles grabbed each other, and began wrestling. There was no plan or strategy, merely sheer brute force and violence. She was mature enough to admit it; this scared her a lot more than the initial fight. As she observed the battle, a part of her mind noted that the new monster looked like it came from of a 10-year-old's drawing of a dinosaur. She never really knew how accurate that observation was. 

== 

"Uhh...what...?" 

"Hitomi? Wake up" Henry said, gently shaking the girl. Beside her, Eevee watched the fight, not sure who to cheer for. 

"Where's Takato?" 

"On the other side of the battle" Henry replied. "He can't get around. We have to stop those two before they destroy each other!" 

"Then we have to get to Takato" Hitomi said, getting up. "He's the only one Guilmon will listen to. Whatever Guilmon is now." Hitomi looked at Growlmon. "He looks like how a 10 year old might draw a dinosaur" she said, more to herself than anyone else. The two edged around the fierce battle. 

The two digimon were tearing at each other, ignoring everything else. Both had neglected their flame attacks in favor of using their claws on each other. Growlmon remembered just enough to use the blades on his arms, which gave him a slight advantage offensively, but left him open to counterattacks from Tyrannomon. Both monsters 'bled' from various wounds, Growlmon being badly bruised around the head and upper torso, Tyrannomon having lost an eye from one of Growlmon's Dragon Slicers. Henry and Hitomi tried not to pay much attention to the fight. 

"Takato," Hitomi said, grabbing Takato by the shoulders when they reached the boy, "you've got to stop him!" 

"I can't" Takato replied. "He won't listen to me!" 

"I told you not to mess with that card" Henry snapped. "Now we're going to have two dead digimon!" 

"Stop it" Hitomi cried. "That won't solve anything! Takato, you made him digivolve, you have to calm him down and get him back to Guilmon!" 

"I'll do it" Terriermon said quietly. "Oh come on, Henry," he said to his tamer, "even if Takato manages to talk dino-boy down, Tyrannomon's gonna rip him apart! And I'm gonna need more than an offense upgrade to stop two champions!" Henry looked at Terriermon, not sure how to reply. "Hey, as long as you're there, I promise I won't go mental, alright?" Henry nodded, taking a card out. 

"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!" 

"Terriermon, digivolve to...GARGOMON!" Gargomon moved towards the two, waiting for an opening. Then, as the two dueling reptiles separated for a second, Gargomon opened up with his main attack. "Gargo Laser" he called, pelting Tyrannomon with a hail of energy blasts. Tyrannomon, caught unawares by the attack, was thrown backwards by the assault, glowing as he did. No one noticed where Tyrannomon landed, as everyone was now paying attenti0on to Growlmon, who had fixed Gargomon with a look that said 'that was MY kill'. 

"Growlmon" Takato yelled, running towards his digimon. Unfortunately, Growlmon, still gripped by rage, mistook Takato's voice for an enemy attack, and launched a fireball at the boy. Gargomon knocked the boy clear, getting himself singed in the process. Then the rage took Gargomon over, and he began attacking! 

"GARGOMON! STOP IT!" Henry yelled at his partner, but the digimon would not listen. Takato was having similar luck with his digimon. Hitomi and Eevee watched as the two champion level digimon tore at each other. Finally, Growlmon, having already suffered severe injury in his fight with Tyrannomon, collapsed and reverted to Guilmon. Gargomon, still acting on instinct alone, aimed his weapons at Guilmon ready to finish the digimon off. Henry ran between the two digimon, blocking Gargomon's aim. "Stop it now" he said. "You promised!" Gargomon stepped back, now confused, torn between his desire to finish the fight and absorb Guilmon's data, and his loyalty to Henry. 

"H...Henry..." Gargomon stuttered, passing out. 

Takato starred at his partner. "Wh...what have I done...?" Then he turned and ran, ignoring Hitomi's calls to come back. 

== 

The Gazimon staggered away from the park. The force of Gargomon's attack had knocked the digimon through the digital field, and had forced Tyrannomon to revert to the rookie digimon Gazimon in order to preserve its life. He still felt like a Maildramon had stomped on him, though. And the sudden sharp pain in his neck didn't help any. In fact, it made him really drowsy... 

Yamaki walked over to the fallen digimon, tranquilizer rifle held in one hand. "So, this works on your type as well" he said. Memories of two years ago replayed in his mind, and the desire to finish off the digimon then and there was very strong in the back of his mind. 

Reilly walked up. "Sir?" Yamaki stopped himself, brought his feelings under control. "So, what will you do with him now?" 

"I will bring it," he replied, emphasizing 'it', "back to Hypnos, where we can examine it and find out how we can destroy the rest of those things." 

To be continued... 

Closing Theme: 'Never Too Far From Home' (Totally Pokemon CD) 

Next Episode: 

Hitomi confronts Takato about the realities of being a digidestined. At the same time, we see the Digital World in a state of civil war, as digimon from all over try to solve the mystery of why they can no longer digivolve. Next on Digicross Tamers episode 5:   
'Beast-King Dethroned'   



	5. Digicross Tamers 05 Beast King Dethrone...

[OP Theme: 'Type: Wild'] 

Digicross Tamers episode 5   
'Beast King Dethroned' 

==Tamers Digital World 

The battle had been raging for days now, one lone champion level digimon against a pair of Ultimate digimon. Normally, Two ultimate digimon would be more than a match for one champion digimon would, but their quarry was no regular digimon. 

Leomon looked from his hiding spot, observing the movements of the two pursuers. He had become intimately aware of the pain his entire body felt, from a combination of fatigue, deprivation, and the strain of never really being able to relax your guard. "And to think" he muttered, "it was only a few days ago that we were friends..." Abruptly, the stone wall he was hiding behind crumbled, and Leomon, surprised and too worn out to recover, fell several yards down the hill to the rocky ground below. 

"Leomon" Majiramon, the dragon deva, said. "Where is it?" Beside the dragon, Antylamon, rabbit deva and former guardian of Zhuquiamon's castle, stood quietly, hands already morphed into axe-like blades. "We seek the light. Where is it?" 

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell traitors like you!" 

"It is you who betrayed the sovereign" Majiramon replied calmly. "We serve the true master of the digital world. Please, tell us, and we will welcome you back to us." 

"Welcome this...Fist of the Beast King!" 

==Tokyo, Monday after school. 

"Any sign of him" Henry asked, meeting Hitomi after classes were done for the day. 

Hitomi shook her head. "No. But I saw him throw this in the trash at lunchtime." Hitomi held up a small notepad that had been held together with rubber bands. Inside were rough sketches of Guilmon and, more recently, pictures of a larger creature that resembled Growlmon. 

"I've got a bad feeling about this" Henry said grimly. "That must be the notepad that Takato created Guilmon on. We'd better find him before he does something stupid." 

"Are you looking for Takato" Jeri asked, approaching the pair. Hitomi nodded. "Well, I think I saw him heading up to the roof. Is he all right? He looked really sad all day." 

"There was some...trouble on Friday with a friend of his" Henry explained. 

"It has something to do with what happened at the park, right? It was in the news, and Takato did say he was going there." Jeri started to look worried. "He's alright, isn't he?" 

"He's fine" Hitomi reassured her. "He just had a nasty shock, that's all. Would it be alright if I talked to him," she asked Henry. 

"Yeah. I'd better get something from the park, Takato left it there on Friday." Henry left. 

"Hitomi" Jeri asked. "Everything is alright, isn't it?" 

Hitomi smiled. "Yes, he's fine." Hitomi thanked Jeri and left, heading for the stairs to the roof. 

Jeri watched Hitomi leave, then shouldered her bookbag and took a different route. She knew the school much better than Hitomi did, and she knew a few ways to the roof that even the teachers didn't know about. There was something going on with Takato, and she was determined to find out what. 

==Digital World 

Leomon was flung backwards by the force of the blow. So far, only Majiramon was attacking; Antylamon had done nothing yet. "Why are you fighting for that impostor" he snarled. 

"Why do you call him 'impostor'? It is you who serve the impostor. He that stole the light and our strength, that cast this world into chaos, where digimon fight each other now for the basest of reasons. It is your 'sovereign' that is the impostor, the betrayer. Leomon, I beg you, old friend. Tell us where the light was taken, how this feat was accomplished. It is not too late for you!" 

"N...NEVER!" With a defiant yell, Leomon jumped, landed on Majiramon's back, and stabbed his sword into the dragon's spine. Roaring in pain, Majiramon fell to the ground, stunned by the ferocity of the attack. Leomon, panting now from the effort, wrenched his sword from out of Majiramon's back and retreated, unwilling to finish off the digimon. "I know who I serve. And I swore that I would never reveal what I know." 

Antylamon moved forward. "Majiramon. I will deal with him" her voice echoed, sending chills down Leomon's spine. 

"Antylamon, don't do this" Leomon cautioned, though he doubted he could do much against the deva. 

Antylamon's first attack disarmed Leomon, his sword sent spinning through the air, landing point down in the earth well out of Leomon's reach. Her second attack knocked the digimon back against a stone outcropping, the breath leaving Leomon's lungs. Leomon tried to recover, but one of Antylamon's blades slammed into the rock beside him, grazing his skin. The pain nearly broke him, especially coming from Antylamon. "An...tylamon, please..." 

"There is no time for this, Leomon." Antylamon's other hand grabbed Leomon by the throat, her face almost touching his. "We know the light of digivolution was given physical form, and that he was sent to the real world. We even know that he is in the place the humans call 'Japan'. All we need now are the exact co-ordinates, as well as a description of his new form. Tell us now, or we will destroy you." Leomon's defiant expression didn't change. "We have agents there now, you know. It is only a matter of time before we find him, with or without your help. Tell us what you know. If you do, I might even be able to forgive you...someday." 

Fear gripped Leomon's heart. They knew all that...there was only one way to go now. With a roar, Leomon knocked Antylamon away, leaped for his sword, sheathed it, and started to run. But Antylamon, not nearly as worn out as Leomon, jumped, and landed in front of the fleeing digimon. "Running away, Leomon? That's not like you at all." 

"I...I can't let you do this. Don't you know what this will do to both worlds?" 

"Yes, I do." 

Leomon stared at Antylamon, stunned that the guardian deva would so calmly accept what her leader was planning. Then he saw her sigil, the sign that marked her as one of the guardians of the Sovereign. It was gone, replaced with a bone white triangle with one of the bars missing. "What have they done to you..." he asked. 

"My eyes have been opened. And now I must close yours. Farewell Leomon." Leomon closed his eyes, waiting for the final strike. 

"ERASE CLAW!" The attack caught Antylamon by surprise, knocking the deva sideways, dragging her blade-arm across Leomon's chest. As he blacked out, the last thing he saw was something black and mean looking landing near him, and a smaller figure jumping off its back, running towards him. 

==Tokyo 

The school had easy access to the roof, where students could come up for semi-private talks with other students, or just to stare aimlessly at the sky. From the school, Takato could easily see the park, looking through the 8-foot high chain-link fence. 

"I really blew it," he said to himself. "Guilmon, Terriermon, Henry, Hitomi...they almost got..." Takato pulled out his digivice, stepped back from the fence. "I wish I had never become a tamer" he said, voice filled with self-hatred. Part of him cried out not to do it, but he was too wrapped up in guilt over what happened Friday to listen to it. He flung the digivice over the fence, wishing never to see it again. 

"You don't think that's going to work, do you" Hitomi asked, walking onto the roof from the stairwell. Takato looked at the girl, not sure what she meant. "Do you really want to get rid of Guilmon that much?" 

"NO!" Takato's sadness switched over to anger. "How dare you say something like that!" Takato spun around, slammed a fist against the fence. "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt. You...you take care of Guilmon! You know more about this sort of thing!" Takato's hand started bleeding. 

Hitomi walked up to Takato, taking the injured hand in hers, pressing a napkin she had taken from the lunchroom on the injury. "You're lying," she said gently, sounding a lot like her mother for an instant. "You care a lot for Guilmon, I can tell." 

"It doesn't change what I did." 

"What you did," Hitomi said, "was make a mistake. Trust me, it's nowhere near as easy as it looks on that TV show." 

"But when I made Guilmon digivolve, he went..." 

"Hey, Henry had the same trouble with Gargomon, remember? And he's been doing this a lot longer than you have. Just give it time, you'll figure it out." 

A loud cawing noise caught Takato's attention. Looking up, he saw Noctowl, digivice clutched in his claws. "How..." 

"I got up here just as you threw it, and sent Noctowl to retrieve it." 

"Why waste the effort? I'll just throw it away again." 

==Digital World 

Leomon came to, not really sure where he was. Looking at his body, Leomon saw that several pinkish spheres of energy were placed on his wounds; he could feel new energy flowing into him. 

"You took quite a beating" the small figure said. "You're lucky Cyberdramon and I were able to get you to this hideout before the other devas came looking for you." 

"Cyberdramon...Are you...?" 

The boy nodded. "Yep. Ryo Akiyama, at your service. I got word that you might be headed this way, so I came out here to give you a hand. Looks like you needed it." 

"My thanks. But I cannot stay, I have to get...rrr..." Leomon tried to stand up, but his body was still too injured to move. He lay down again, wincing. 

"You're not going anywhere for a while. Let those data packets do their work. I was told a bit about your mission. Are you really headed to the real world?" 

"Yes. Baihumon himself told me to find the light of digivolution and guard it. And now, I must go..." 

"Easy, what's the rush?" 

"The devas know about what was done to the light, and where it was sent. I have to get there, they said they had agents in place already, searching for it." 

Ryo arched an eyebrow. "I can't believe they'd actually send a digimon through. Giant pigs and dragons aren't the most subtle means of finding something that no one even knows what it looks like." Ryo shrugged. "And if Makuramon's leading the hunt, we've got all the time in the world." 

"He is crafty and cunning. Not one to be...underestimated" Leomon cautioned the boy, wincing. 

"He's an arrogant blowhard who's not nearly as smart as he thinks, and about as subtle as Vikaralamon." Leomon writhed in pain, groaning. "Hey, you OK?" As Ryo and Cyberdramon watched, Leomon's body glowed, and began shrinking. When the light subsided, a new digimon was lying down. 

"Oh, great" Gabumon said. "I've de-digivolved. What good am I like this?" 

"Probably for the best" Ryo said, trying not to laugh at Leomon's deep voice coming out of such a small digimon. "Giant two legged lions would draw a bit more attention than a walking throw rug." 

"Funny. Hey, I'm not hurting anywhere." 

"Azulongmon explained it to me once" Ryo said. "If a digimon's too badly injured, it throws off the damaged data, and reverts to a less evolved form. Kind of like a safety valve, letting off excess pressure before the main tank blows." 

Cyberdramon stalked into the tent. "Clear" he said in a gravelly voice, sounding a bit disappointed. 

"We're trying to keep a low profile," Ryo admonished his partner, "not pick a fight with everything in a 50 mile radius." Ryo walked over, picked up a pack. "Come on," he said to Gabumon, "I'll get you the rest of the way." 

==Tokyo Park. 

"Do we really have to do this?" Takato, being led by Hitomi, was heading for the small shack Guilmon hid in during the day. Eevee was with them, perched on Hitomi's shoulder. 

Hitomi looked at Takato. "No, you'd have come here sooner or later anyway. But I wanted to check on Guilmon too." The two walked up the steps, and saw Terriermon waiting outside. Eevee hopped off Hitomi's shoulder, and the two monsters exchanged smalltalk. "How is he?" 

"Hungry, what'd ya expect" Terriermon replied. Eevee sighed, muttering "figures." 

Guilmon stuck his head out. "Takatomon! I was so worried about you!" Guilmon ran forward and nearly knocked Takato down trying to tackle-hug his tamer. 

Hitomi walked over to the small shack, where Henry was waiting. "Well?" 

Henry shrugged. "Well, he was miserable most of Sunday, and still lousy this morning too, from what Terriermon told me. But he started feeling better a few minutes ago. I'd guess about the same time Takato got here. Did you have to drag him?" 

Hitomi shook her head. "He'd have come here sooner or later. But it's odd how closely those two are linked." 

"Takato did create him" Henry replied. "I guess Guilmon literally is a part of Takato." He shuddered a bit, remembering the fight against Tyrannomon. "I still can't see how someone like Guilmon could have gotten so...wild." 

"Digivolution takes a lot of energy" Hitomi said. "I guess all that energy flooding into Guilmon just...shorted him out. Maybe it gets easier with practice or something. Virus digimon can be tricky to handle, sometimes." 

"Could be. That fight was the first time Terriermon digivolved since he appeared." 

"It's instinct too," Terriermon said, walking towards his partner. "Every time a digimon appears, we just know it, and we can't help but be drawn to them. Before I came here, fighting and absorbing data was the only way to get stronger and digivolve. It's just the way..it always was. Right Eevee?" 

"I wouldn't know" the pokemon replied. "I'm...from way out." 

"You mean you're really a little green man," Terriermon asked coyly. "You wanna show us your flying saucer now?" 

"Wrong channel" Henry said. "Who did June wind up marrying anyway?" Hitomi almost answered, then stopped, staring dumbfounded at Henry. 

"Umm...you want to back up for a sec," Terriermon asked. 

"Hitomi" Henry said gently, "come on. A D-3 instead of a D-arc, a digiegg that works, you knowing so much about digimon, but you've never even heard of the card game or the show until you appeared here. And you're way too good to have only just found Eevee. And I don't recall those small red and white spheres showing up in the card series or the TV show. Believe me," he went on, pointing to Terriermon, "I looked." 

"I..." Beside Hitomi, Eevee was stammering, trying to think of a way out of this. 

"The clincher was when you called Kazu a liar last week. You sounded just like June from the TV show. And your last name's Motomiya to boot." Hitomi started to back away. "Relax, I'm not going to turn you over to the government or anything." 

== 

Takato and Guilmon went over to a small clearing near where other children were playing on swings and climbing all over a wooden fort. "Guilmon" Takato said, "I am so sorry about what happened." 

"About what" Guilmon asked. "Oh, me turning into a big firebreathing dinosaur. Is that what you meant?" 

"Yeah." 

"It OK Takatomon" Guilmon said. "You didn't know any better." Takato blinked, not following Guilmon. "When I digivolved, I felt a part of you in me, it was nice! Except for the turning into a giant firebreathing monster and scaring everyone half to death part. Maybe we just need practice?" 

"M...maybe...I just don't want you to get hurt..." 

"I'll be fine as long as you're around Takatomon, I..." Guilmon broke off, looking around intently. 

"Who's there" Takato asked, half scared. Another noise, a small branch being broken, pulled his attention in a particular direction. Images of government agents grabbing Guilmon and dragging the digimon off filled his mind, until he saw who it was that made the noise. "Jeri?" 

Jeri stood up, looking at Guilmon. "I was worried about you, so I followed you here and..." Jeri trailed off, looking at the digimon. Guilmon cocked his head, not sure of what to make of this human. "Is this...a digimon?" Takato slowly nodded, wondering if the screaming or the running would happen first. Then..."he's ADORABLE!" 

==Digital World 

"So, this is it" Gabumon asked. "This is where I can find a way to the real world?" 

Ryo nodded. "Yeah. See those big energy beams? Normally, they just transfer data from one point in the digital world to another. But, every now and then, there's a beam of energy from earth to here that can take you to the real world. There's been a lot of digimon showing up here recently, hopping into transfer beams left and right. Look for the beam that has a blue aura behind it, those are your best bet." 

"Why not take one yourself?" 

Ryo's face was unreadable for a second. "There's nothing for me there now. Besides, if I wasn't here, who'd control Cyberdramon? There's enough problems here without another Ultimate digimon running amok." 

"But the risk...if the Devas find you..." 

"Heh. They have to find me, first." Ryo patted a small rectangular pack on his belt. "Even if they do, Cyberdramon and I can give them a fight they'll never forget. Hey, there's a beam now. Get going!" Gabumon nodded, running for the cylinder of light that Ryo indicated. Ryo waved, and watched as Gabumon jumped in and vanished. 

"You don't have to stay" Cyberdramon growled. "I can survive on my own." 

Ryo swung his head around, eyes flashing. "You and your little brother did enough damage in the 10 minutes you were on earth, Cyberdramon!" He calmed a bit. "I meant what I said. I'll stay here and keep an eye on you. There is no way I'm letting what happened then repeat itself. Clear?" 

==Between Worlds 

Gabumon felt himself twisted, as if his body was being pulled apart and put back together. Dimly, he could make out a long corridor; it, along with everything else, looked like a giant wireframe model. He saw a tunnel; above the tunnel, what looked like a city, also in wireframe. He could sense life there, as well as...other digimon? 

"I must get there...find the light of digivolution..." Gabumon struggled, started running. Around him, he could feel the corridor become more solid, more real. Then, as he felt a wall in front of him give away, he felt himself falling... 

== 

When he came to, Gabumon found himself in a large pit. As he looked around, a strong smell made him almost retch. "I must be near a sewer or something," he said to himself. "Hey, there was a digimon here, a while back" Looking, he could see the faint traces of footprints, and saw evidence of some sort of explosion here. "That wall looks half melted" he murmured. "Another digimon must have arrived at this point." 

A memory from his battle with Antylamon replayed itself. "I have to hurry. If the false Sovereign does have agents here, then there's no telling how much of a head start they have on me!" Getting up, Gabumon crept away, trying not to be spotted by the innumerable wave of humans in the city. 

Next Episode   
While Impmon recalls what happened just after he emerged in the Real World, Yamaki takes his crusade against digimon to a new depth. Rika runs into Calumon and Unown again, and Henry learns Hitomi's true history.   
Digicross Tamers episode 6: 'Impmon's tale.' 


	6. Digicross Tamers 06 Impmon's tale

Digicross Tamers Episode 6   
'Impmon's Tale.' 

==Wong Household, the night before... 

Henry Wong hung his jacket up in the closet, and went to his room. It had been an unusual day, to say the least. When he'd confronted Hitomi about her true origins, he'd been expecting to be called crazy. Even a slap in the face wouldn't have been surprising as the truth. Hitomi was from a world that mirrored the Digital World on television. At least, it mirrored it in a few ways. He'd have been suspicious if her homeworld had matched exactly. And some of the things she had said about her home... 

"Kari and Izzy...I never would have seen that coming." he muttered to himself. As he started down the hallway to his room, he saw his father standing in the doorway to his room. 

Janyu Wong stood there, looking at Henry. Both of his hands were behind his back, so Henry couldn't tell what he was holding, though it looked to be rather large. Janyu's face was unreadable, a series of emotions running across it. "Henry?" 

"Yeah dad?" 

Janyu moved his arms from behind his back; in his left hand, he had Terriermon by the nape of the neck. "Can we talk?" 

Moumantai, Henry said to himself. 

==Digital World, 2 years ago 

Impmon ran across the upper plain, looking for his quarry. "Where are ya, ya overgrown suitcase? Get out here so I can bada-boom ya one!" Angrily, Impmon scanned the area. He knew his 'brother' was close by. 

Suddenly, a hard impact knocked Impmon over. Making it worse was that much hated chuckle that Impmon recognized all too well. Once again, Monodramon had managed to sneak up and launch a playful attack on him. What really annoyed Impmon was that Monodramon was not taking anything seriously. He had repeatedly denied that he wanted to absorb data, to become stronger and digivolve. It didn't help that Impmon could never defeat Monodramon, either in a straight fight or by treachery. 

"Gahh, chill out Impy." Monodramon said in that easy-going voice. "You know, you need to relax a bit. It's not all loading data and fighting, you know." 

"Ahh, whadda you know? You dragon types get all the breaks" Impmon snarled. "What did ya drag me up here for anyway?" 

Monodramon smiled. "I'm goin'." he said. "I've had it with this place, all the fighting. I'm going over to the real world and find me a partner!" 

Impmon blinked, dumbfounded. "Are you nuts? Why would you want to hook up with one of those losers on the flip side? They can't even digivolve!" 

Monodramon looked at Impmon, serious for a moment. "There is more to life than digivolution. I could care less about strength." The moment passed, and Monodramon was smiling again. "I'm gonna see the world and have a blast. Later!" 

==Tokyo, Present day 

Rika Nonaka left school, running as fast as she could. She had heard the mental 'call' that Renamon sent, and knew that her partner had found something. Pulling out her digivice, she activated it, and followed the holographic compass. 

"Figures she'd be in there." Sighing, Rika entered the park. With school having just ended, the place was starting to fill up with school kids. Dodging around some of them, Rika managed to make it to a wooded over part of the park, and found Renamon there, watching something. 

"Well, what's the big emergency?" 

"You asked me to keep an eye out for Unown and Calumon." Renamon replied. Pointing, she indicated the two creatures playing around with some preschool children. "They've been there all afternoon, alternating between playing and sleeping. Those kids showed up a few minutes ago, and they've been playing with them, too." 

Rika blinked. "They're not fighting? They're acting like...like..." 

"Kids. Popular belief to the contrary, digimon are capable of just playing around." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rika asked, annoyed by Renamon's tone. 

"Hey there!" Calumon said, bursting through the underbrush. "Wanna come play with us?" 

"Guhh....wha?" 

"Oh. Were you playing hide and seek?" Calumon asked. "Well, I found you! Or was it with Guilmon? He's fun, but it's a shame Takato wants him to stay in that small house." As Calumon rambled, Unown wandered over. 

"Didn't you have something you wanted to ask him?" Renamon reminded Rika. 

Calumon tilted his head. "Is this about Hitomi again? 'Cause Unown says there's a much faster way to tell you everything." 

"There is?" Rika asked. Taking this as an affirmative, Unown glowed, rainbow colored aura surrounding it. A matching aura surrounded Rika, who immediately stopped moving. 

"Rika!" 

==Digital World, 2 years ago 

"Keep running!" Monodramon and Impmon ran from the enraged Gorillamon. "YOu had to go insult him, didn't ya!" 

"Hey, so he can't take a joke!" Impmon yelled back. "'Zat my fault?" 

"YES!" The two kept running down the hill, dodging energy blasts fired by Gorillamon. Ahead, they saw a series of beams coming from the small planet that hovered in the sky. 

"If we go in there, we won't know where we'll end up!" Impmon yelled. 

"You do what you want, I'm going for it!" With that, Monodramon ran even faster, small wings giving him some lift as he charged down towards one of the beams. "See ya on the flip side, Impy!" 

"You ain't leaving me behind!" Taking one last look behind him, Impmon closed his eyes, and jumped into a second transport beam. As he did, he failed to notice Gorillamon's massive body trip, roll down the hill, and follow Impmon into the beam only a few seconds behind him. 

==Tokyo, present day. 

Takato closed his locker, thanking every god he had ever heard of that the day was finally over. He had promised to take Jeri to Guilmon's hideout today, after being asked innumerable questions about his partner. Plus he got taken to task by one of the teachers for not having his math homework done, forcing him to miss lunch to make it up. 

It was just before lunch had ended that Henry had found Takato and broke the news to him. He'd known Hitomi was a bit odd, but...wow. 

"Man, Izzy and Kari...who'd have guessed." he muttered. Henry had sworn Takato to secrecy, and to not bug the girl with questions about how the world she came from was different (and the same) as the Digital World he saw on TV. He'd also been told that Henry's dad had found out about Terriermon. Surprisingly, Henry hadn't been grounded or punished. 

At that moment, Henry walked up to Takato. "Hey. How've you doing?" 

"Oh, fine. Umm...look, Jeri kinda came across me and Guilmon..." 

Henry palmed his face. "Terrific. How much did you tell her?" 

"Hey! She came across me, it's not like I tried to show him off or anything! And she only knows about Guilmon, I haven't told her anything about Terriermon, Renamon, or...Hitomi." Takato blinked. "Man, if it was coming from anyone else, I don't think I could believe it." 

"I know. I'm still having a hard time believing it. But it's the only explanation that fits." Henry leaned against the locker, sighing. "So, what are you going to do now?" 

"Well, I promised Jeri I'd take her to see where I've got Guilmon hidden. I never knew she could be so persuasive." 

To you, at least, Henry thought. "Well, best of luck. Hopefully no one else will find out about this (yes, now he's just asking for it -ed). At the rate we're going, we might as well just run an ad in the paper. Dad caught Terriermon just before I got home last night." 

Takato groaned. "I can see it now. Come to Tokyo, see the digimon. I hope someone at Bandai doesn't find out. I don't think I'm old enough to handle a copyright lawsuit." The two said good-bye, and headed out the doors. 

Some yards behind them, Kazu and Kenta followed Takato. "Should we be doing this?" Kenta asked. 

"Dude, wake up!" Kazu chastised him. "Those two are up to something, and I'm gonna find out what it is. I just know it's something to do with Digimon." 

"You just want to spy on Takato and Jeri." Kenta accused him. 

"Hey!" 

==Park 

Rika stood there, motionless. Renamon shook Rika, trying to wake her up. "What did you do to her?" Renamon snarled, looking at Unown. 

The pokemon didn't respond, leaving Calumon to answer. "I think he's telling her about Hitomi. But I've never seen him do anything like this before." 

Abruptly, Unown stopped whatever it was doing, and pulled back. Rika stood there motionless for a few seconds, then nearly fell over, Renamon catching her at the last moment. "Where....where am I?" 

"Rika? What happened?" Renamon shot a dark look at Unown. "If you've hurt her, I'll make you pay for it." 

Renamon's voice helped Rika focus. Her mind cleared a bit, and she saw Renamon over her, worry on her face. Then she saw Calumon and Unown. 

"Get me out of here." It was a whisper, barely audible. 

"Rika?" 

"Get me out of here!" 

Renamon was stunned. She's...terrified, Renamon almost said. Picking up her partner, Renamon jumped, heading for the nearest rooftop. Once clear, Renamon set her partner down, trying to calm the girl. "Rika, it's me, Renamon. What did that thing do to you?" 

Having calmed down, Rika was able to sort through the images that Unown had dumped into her mind. Her first emotion was anger at herself, for nearly falling apart under the strain. "I'm fine." she snapped. Hurt, Renamon stepped back. "Wait. I'm...sorry." 

An apology, too, Renamon thought. This day is full of surprises. 

"That...thing...it dumped a whole bunch of information into my mind. It told me everything about itself and about..." 

"About what?" 

"Hitomi. She's not from here." Rika sighed. "I need to go home. Everything's changed now." 

==Tokyo, 2 years ago 

"Happy Birthday, Ryo!" 

"Dad! Thanks!" Ryo Akiyama, still flush from his victory in the Digimon Card Tournament, opened the gift his father placed in front of him. As he did, his father watched, brushing a lock of his blond hair out of his eyes. 

"A new card reader! Thanks!" 

"Well, I still don't see what all the fuss over this card game is about, but it's better than some of the other vices out there." Isao Akiyama fingered an old cigarette lighter in his pocket. 

"If it were a vice, then something bad would happen, right?" Ryo asked, using that child logic no parent could ever follow. 

"Of course, son. Why don't you try it on this?" Ryo was handed a booster pack. His father knew that his son had almost every card that existed, but the gesture was enough. "I think it's from that new release, I can never keep up with this sort of thing." 

Eagerly, Ryo opened the package. "Hey, a King Device! Thanks! I-" Ryo was knocked down as a man in an orange jacket ran through, apparently not seeing the boy. 

"HEY! Watch it!" Ryo's father yelled, picking his son up. "You all right?" 

"Yeah. I didn't break your present." 

"I don't care about that." Isao said. "Come on, I'll help you pick up the cards that idiot made you drop." The two checked the sidewalk. "Is this one of them?" The father held up an odd card, blue with a grey strip on the side. There was some sort of holographic logo on the front, a 'D' with a dinosaur coming out of it. 

"I don't recognize it. Maybe that guy dropped it?" Taking the card, Ryo tried to swipe the card through his new card reader. However, there was a flash of energy, and the card was pushed out of the reader! 

"That's odd." Ryo and his father both said. Inspired, Ryo took out his old card reader. "If something does happen," Ryo explained, "I'd rather it happened to my old reader. You're reader's probably better than this old thing." So saying, he ran the card through the slot; this time, there was no resistance. After a second, there was a faint hum, and his reader began glowing. 

"What-" Ryo's father started saying, then stopped. As he watched, the card reader glowed white, then changed into a different shape. It was blue with a black ring around a small square screen, and had a small clip on its top, presumably so one could attach it to a belt loop. 

"What is that?" 

"I...I think its some kind of digivice!" 

==Present day, Hypnos main labs 

Yamaki looked at the digimon, still unconcious inside the scanning area. The device was shaped like a gigantic cylinder, with the subject floating inside a liquid substance that Yamaki didn't really understand. One of the technicians said it helped conduct the scanning waves through the subject, but he didn't really care about such things. 

"Sir." Yamaki turned, saw Reilly there. "The subject is ready to be scanned. Do you wish to proceed?" 

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" 

Reilly repressed a sigh. "As I've said before, that thing in there is displaying signs of life and sentience. If we run the full scan on it, there's a good chance the scanner will destroy it." 

"YOu talk like it's alive or something. Look at it." he said, pointing to the Gazimon. "It's just a bundle of data. Worse, it's a dangerous bundle of data; we have to remove these things from the planet." 

Reilly stared at Yamaki. "I was there too. I saw what happened." 

"You mean you saw two of these things fight, with a group of children caught in the middle? That makes my case all the stronger. Those kids think this is some sort of game, like they're in that blasted TV show." 

"No, *Isao*," Reilly replied coldly. "I was there two years ago. We both know what happened." 

Yamaki looked back at Reilly, the intensity of his glare apparent even through his sunglasses. "Isao died two years ago. Never mention him again." Yamaki stalked off, lighter in his hand clicking as he flipped the cover open and shut. 

Reilly stood there, watching Yamaki leave. Then she headed back to the monitoring room where Talli was. She didn't want to be there when the scanning began. She'd heard one of the more morbid techs refer to the scanner as the 'digi-section chamber', and didn't want to see what a digimon looked like when it was taken apart. 

==2 years ago, Tokyo 

"Hey, welcome home!" Reilly stood up as Ryo and his father entered the house. "I let myself in. Couldn't properly welcome the birthday boy without a few surprises!" With a flourish, Reilly uncovered a cake with Ryo's name on it, shaped like a small dragon. "I checked with some kids I know. Monodramon is your favorite digimon, right?" 

"This is turning into your day, isn't it?" his father asked. "Go get washed up, I'll set the table." After Ryo left, his father related everything that had happened. 

"That is odd," Reilly said. "Have you told anyone else yet?" 

"What would I tell them? I'm not sure I believe what I saw and-" Ryo's scream cut him off. The two adults ran up to Ryo's room. "What happened? Ryo? Are you OK?" 

Ryo stood there, pointing at his bed. On it, a small dragon rested on it, looking like it had been in a fight. "I tried swiping a card though my digivice," Ryo stammered, "and Monodramon just...appeared!" 

"OK," Reilly said, "this is getting too weird." 

"Do you still have that blue card?" Ryo's father asked, curious. 

Ryo looked through the small pile of cards. "It's gone! It must have vanished when I passed it through my card reader!" 

Isao walked over to the pile of cards, taking care not to wake up the sleeping dragon. "That is so odd. How could a small piece of-" Isao watched as one of the cards he was holding suddenly changed, the image on the front (BO-76 'Myotismon', if you must know -ed) vanishing, being replaced by a blue field. "Did...I do this?" Unable to stop himself, Isao took the card reader he had bought for Ryo, and tried to swipe the card through the slot. There was no resistance; in fact, the reader changed in Isao's hands, just as Ryo's did. The digivice that formed was black with a blue ring, the reverse of Ryo's. 

"Cool!" Ryo looked at his father's digivice. "Maybe if you pass a card through, it'll turn into a partner for you too!" 

"Slow down, kid." Reilly said. "What if something dangerous comes through?" 

"He's right, I-" Isao was cut off as a flash of light from the digivice blinded everyone in the room. When it cleared, the small dragon was awake, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. 

"Hey, did I make it?" 

==Present day, Nonaka household 

Renamon managed to get Rika back to her room without being spotted. Rika, still a bit shaken, sat down on the floor, trying to collect her thoughts. 

"What did Unown do to you?" 

"It was...weird." Rika replied. "It's like he dumped a whole bunch of information into my head. But I don't.." 

"Don't what?" 

"Hitomi's not from here. She's not from this world." 

"She's a digimon?" 

"No. I saw some of her world. She's a digidestined, but it's like it was on TV." Rika trailed off, not sure how to continue. 

"I thought you hated that show." 

"I..." Rika frowned. "I can't believe it. I spend almost two years trying to be the best, and then she just comes along." Rika looked at Renamon, a mix of emotions crossing her features. "It's just a hobby to her! Her and everyone around her." 

"What do you mean?" 

"There are monsters there too. In her world. 'Pokemon', that's what they're called, and kids train them, without having to sneak around. And there's digimon there too!" Unable to continue, Rika stopped. How was she supposed to be the best tamer when she had to face an entire world of digidestined? 

"Then I'll fight them. And beat them." Renamon said after a moment. 

"What?" 

"The only way we can become stronger is to face opponents better than ourselves. If Eevee and Hitomi are better than us, then we have to face them and defeat them." Renamon looked at her partner. "Later, we shall fight them. You've taken a bad shock, and should rest now." 

Rika nodded. "Renamon?" 

"Yes?" 

Rika didn't say anything for a minute. Then, "Thanks." 

==Tokyo, 2 years ago 

One second, Impmon was running down a hill, running from Gorillamon. THen, he had jumped into a transport beam, and everything had changed. He was in some sort of city, with houses all around him. 

Gorillamon was still chasing him. OK, maybe not *everything* had changed. As Impmon ran, he could feel a faint tug, a sense that there was another digimon nearby. "I just know this is Monodramon's fault!" Following the pull, Impmon used a fireball to blow open the door of the first house he came across. 

Upstairs, Ryo and Isao heard the noise, as did the small dragon. 'What was that?" Ryo asked. 

The dragon tensed up. "Great. I thought I was free of all that, now that I made it to the real world." 

"Real world?" Isao asked, not understanding. 

"OK, real quick, I'm a digimon called Monodramon, the kid here," he said, indicating Ryo, "is my Tamer, and I think something really nasty followed me here. Wait here, I'll deal with it." Monodramon hopped off the bed, and went down the stairs. 

"I'm getting scared here." Reilly said, watching the small dragon leave the room. 

"Same here." 

==Present Day, Hypnos laboratories 

Gazimon blinked. His last memory was of a rabbit shooting at him. A digimon, yes. But now, he found himself inside some sort of tank, floating but still able to breathe somehow. "Where...am I?" Looking out one of the windows, he saw a human, adult, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. 

Impassively, Yamaki looked back at the creature. "Begin." was all he said. 

Gazimon was suddenly wracked by pain, currents of energy tearing through him, feeling as if he was being pulled apart and put back together. This continued for several minutes, then it stopped, leaving Gazimon only semiconscious, barely aware of his surroundings. 

Yamaki looked at one of the technicians monitoring the digimon. "Well?" 

"DNA sequences, some form of respiration, there was definitely a response to the probe's power level. Perhaps a lower setting will-" 

"No. I want all the information you can get out of this thing. If we have to destroy it in the process, so be it." 

The tech hesitated for a second. THose screams he had heard had not come from some mere collection of data. "Understood. 10 seconds until the probe is recharged." 

"Good. Keep an eye for any information on its sensory abilities; these things seem able to sense each other here." The tech nodded, then reactivated the probe. 

In the monitoring dome, Talli held her hands over her ears as Gazimon's screams echoed through the building. "I can't take much more of this." she said. "What is he doing down there?" 

"Looking for answers." Reilly replied, her hands gripping the sides of her keyboard. God Isao, she thought, what happened to you? 

Inside the tank, Gazimon knew he was about to die. He could feel the connections inside his body start to fall apart like old cloth, he could almost see his body starting to disintegrate. The worst part was that, without another digimon present, his data would not be absorbed; everything he had known or done would be gone, lost forevermore. 

This last thought drove him to desperation. Madly, he tried to digivolve, tried to become Tyrannomon again. 

"Sir! There's an energy flux building up in the chamber!" 

Yamaki scowled. "He's trying to digivolve. Transfer the data we have now to the main core, and irradiate the chamber!" 

"But that will destroy-" 

"It's him or us! DO IT!" Panicking, the tech scrambled to obey. Inside the chamber, Gazimon felt a part of himself being pulled apart, then a wash of energy wiped out everything. 

"Chamber returning to normal status. The creature is gone." 

== 

Somewhere in the city, Impmon looked up. He knew where those humans had taken that Gazimon; he had followed them as far as the building, then pulled back in terror as he recognized one of the humans there. Watching from a few blocks back, he felt Gazimon's data being torn apart, very faintly heard the scream from inside the building. 

"If that's what humans do to digimon, I'm gonna have to get a whole lot stronger." 

==2 years ago. 

The situation had deteriorated rapidly. The humans had quietly marched down the stairs when they heard Monodramon yelling. Not attacking; more like arguing. The humans could make out a second voice, oddly accented. 

It was the arrival of the giant white ape that changed everything. Monodramon was knocked through a wall, along with another digimon, small, black, and humanoid. Following them, a large white ape with a cannon in place of his right arm stalked after them. 

"Monodramon!" Ryo called. Gorillamon looked at the humans, assessing how much of a threat they'd be. 

"Stop this!" Panicking, Isao yelled at the large digimon. "Why are you doing this?" 

The small black digimon answered. "You dummy! This is what digimon do! BADA BOOM!" A flurry of fireballs hit Gorillamon, but it had little effect. "I'm gonna wipe the floor with ya, you oversized dump truck! Come on, BRING IT!" 

Gorillamon roared, and swung his gun arm at Impmon, who dodged the attack, throwing more fireballs. The two battled, neither doing much damage to each other. They were tearing the house up in the process, though. 

"Why won't that jerk drop already?" Impmon's frustration was evident. 

"C...cause he's a champion." Monodramon pulled himself out of the wreckage. "Need more power..." 

"Well, digivolve then!" Ryo said, angry now. 

"Not that simple. I need more power to digivolve. YOu have to help me!" 

"How?" Ryo looked around, then had an inspiration. He'd swiped Monodramon's card, and he'd appeared. Ryo ran back to his room. A minute later, he came back, with a small pile of cards. 

Reilly stared incredulously at Ryo. "What are those for?" 

"Just had a plan." Ryo held his digivice up, and got a card out. "King Device, Activate!" Saying that, he swiped a card through the digivice. Monodramon screamed as the power tore through him. Through the flare of light, Ryo could make out Monodramon's shape changing into Strikedramon. Then, with another flash, Strikedramon's form shifted into his next digivolution. 

"Cyberdramon," Ryo breathed. "He went past Champion to his ultimate level." 

Reilly looked around, hearing the house creak as the fight had already taken its toll. Around her ankles, she saw smoke. Or was it fog? "We'd better get out of here!" 

"ERASE CLAW!" 

==Present, Hypnos laboratories 

"I never stopped looking," Yamaki said to himself. "For two days I tore through the wreckage of our house, looking for any sign of you. There wasn't even a body left because of those...things. 

"I died that day. I left everything behind, devoted the rest of my life to finding out about those 'digimon' that took you from me. I even changed my name; Isao Akiyama brought you those cards that destroyed you. Maybe my new life as Hypnos chief Yamaki can make sure that never happens again." 

Reilly walked in. "The reports you asked for sir. Plus enhancements of those photos. The lab boys think that something about the digital nature of those Wild Ones makes it difficult for them to be captured on digital equipment." 

"And the children in the photos?" 

"Not much luck. We got a partial of one, a girl we're trying to extrapolate. We did get an ID one one of the boys there. Here's what we got." 

Yamaki looked at the photo of the boy. CHinese descent, he noted, intelligent looking too. Eyes a bit like Ryo's...Yamaki shook himself, denying the memory. Then he noticed the name. "Henry Wong? That's his name?" Reilly nodded. "See if he's any relation to a Janyu Wong." 

"Sir?" 

Yamaki handed Reilly a book. The cover was plain, grey with a small title on the front. "Thesis on advanced computer intelligence?" I don't see the relevance. This looks like a university thesis." 

"It is. Look at the names of the authors." 

Reilly opened the book, and glanced at the list of authors. As she suspected, it was a thesis, for what looked like a fairly high level computing course. The names sounded like they came from all over the globe. Japan, America, India, China..."Janyu Wong," she said. "How...?" 

==Park 

Takato, Jeri, and Guilmon stared at the two intruders. Takato had been explaining to Jeri how Guilmon had been created, about digimon in general, and how important it was that the whole thing be kept a secret. Then, the sound of a branch snapping got their attention. Guilmon had been ready to attack when Kazu and Kenta stumbled out of the bush, both staring in awe at the first live digimon they had ever seen. 

Takato looked at Guilmon and Jeri. "Aw nuts," the three chorused. 

Next Episode   
Three generations of digidestined try to figure out how to find and retrieve Hitomi. Mysteries are uncovered, and Ms. Asaji learns a bit more about her new roommate. Next on Digicross Tamers:   
'Worlds Apart' 


	7. Digicross Tamers 07 Worlds Apart

Digicross Tamers episode 7   
'Worlds Apart' 

==Stone Town, Wednesday night 

June Motomiya opened the door to the kitchen. Looking in, she was about to turn the lights on when she spotted Kyle, sitting in the darkened room holding a large sketchpad, the type that art students bought. Recognizing it, she walked over to Kyle, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Kyle, come on. You need to rest." 

"How much more?" June looked at Kyle, not understanding his question. "We saved the world, what, twice, and this is what happens? When is it enough?" Shaking now, Kyle began crying. 

June took her husband's arm and let him lean on her, his head resting on her shoulder. She felt his tears soaking through the shoulder of her nightshirt. Sharing his feelings, June let her husband weep. She knew he had been holding back for far too long now. After a few minutes, she led him out of the kitchen, and back to their bed. 

[OP Sequence] 

==Tokyo, Tamers universe, same time 

Sitting on the table in the kitchen, Eevee watched as Hitomi slept. She turned a few times in her cot, gripped in what was clearly an unpleasant dream. Perched over her, Noctowl rested as well, still alert for anything that might attack. Eevee felt like crying; he knew what was wrong, and he knew that there was little, if anything, he could do about it. 

Nami walked in, unable to sleep. "You couldn't sleep either?" she asked the pokemon. Then she saw Hitomi. "Is she alright? What's wrong with her?" 

Eevee lowered his head. "It's her birthday in a few days." 

"Her first one away from home?" 

"That, and more. I told you about Kyoko and Ryoko?" Nami nodded. "Well, Hitomi was born only a few hours after the twins were. Ever since they were old enough to walk, the twins kinda adopted Hitomi as their little sister." 

"They were close?" 

"You should have seen the storm they raised when Izzy moved the family to New Bark Town. I wasn't there, but there were about three days of either the twins hiding at Hitomi's house, or Hitomi hiding in the moving van." Eevee sighed, remembering the stories about the three that his 'father' had told him. "Anyway, when their sixth birthday rolled around, the twins wanted Hitomi there to celebrate with them, and wouldn't take no for an answer. Anyway, the parents caved, and ever since then, they've made a point of visiting each other on their birthday." Eevee slapped a paw against the table. "I'm her partner, for God's sake. I should be able to do something!" 

Nami bit back the urge to tell Eevee to relax; popular psychology aside, such things usually made the situation worse in cases like this. "Maybe I could organize something for her? Not a party or anything, just something small?" 

"I don't know. Hitomi was looking forward to this just before we got pulled here." 

"Well, I should do something. I just can't stand to see her like this." 

Eevee looked at the teacher. "You really mean that?" 

Nami smiled. "Hey, not all school teachers are heartless. You go get some rest, and we'll figure something out tomorrow. If I can handle Takato being a digidestined, I think I can cheer Hitomi up." 

Eevee smiled a bit. "You think you've got it bad? Kari's a teacher, and half her class are digidestined children, all about Takato's age. The other half are ready to go off on a pokemon journey as soon as they get a license." 

==New Bark Town, Pokemon World, Thursday morning. 

Kyoko Kamiya woke up, rubbing the sand out of her eyes. Beside her, Salamon slept quietly. Still not fully aware, she looked at the alarm clock, then at the calendar. It was one of those small desk calendars, with the pages you could tear off each day. Reaching over, she tore off yesterday's page, and noticed the date on it. 

"I'm 11 today." Kyoko smiled a bit. Every birthday, she had a great time. All the digidestined that could come did so. Usually there was music, lots of laughing, presents, all for her, Ryoko- 

And Hitomi, she suddenly remembered, her cheer vanishing in an instant. Without her little sister around, there wasn't much point in being happy. She got up, pulled some clothes on, and exited the room. 

After a few minutes, Salamon woke up. "Kyoko?" Salamon looked around for her partner, noticing that she had left her digivice behind. 

"She's outside, probably in the same place Ryoko is." Sneasel, Ryoko's partner walked in, his expression downcast. "Given everything that's happened, I can't blame them for not wanting a party today." 

"Have you heard anything?" 

Sneasel shook his head. "Not much. I overheard Kari on the phone with June. I think Hitomi's parents will be here, but in what condition, I can't say. You know how Kyle is about this sort of thing." 

"He'll do what he thinks is right, no matter how much it kills him, or how much he insists on taking all the blame for it." Gatomon, golden ring on her tail, walked up the stairs and over to the other two monsters. "I think Kari was trying to tell them to stay home, but June wouldn't have it." 

"It's gonna be weird without Hitomi around." Salamon lowered her head. "I wish there was something we could do." 

"Hey, she's got Eevee with her." Sneasel grinned a bit. "He's almost as good a fighter as I am. As long as they're together, they'll be just fine. And we can try to be there for our own partners; that's about all we can do right now." 

Gatomon looked at Sneasel. "But you're still calling dibs on whoever did this to Hitomi?" 

"I'm in line after Kyle and June." 

== 

Outside, Kyoko walked around the back yard. Living at the New Bark Town labs was a bit of a benefit for the twins. The pokemon there were almost as numerous and diverse as the pokemon at Professor Oak's place. She knew where her sister would be; where she went whenever she was feeling down. 

As she approached the lakeside, she could make out the sound of Ryoko talking to someone. After a second, she realized there were several people there, and hurried over. As she entered the small clearing, she found her sister, along with two of the children of the other digidestined there. "Asuka? Takeru? What are you doing here?" 

Takeru Motomiya waved. "Dad brought me around; said you two might want some company." Beside him, his partner Veemon waved to Kyoko. 

Beside him, Asuka Melin brushed a lock of dirty blonde hair out of her eyes. "My parents said the same thing. How are you doing?" Asuka walked over and hugged her friend. Behind her, her partner Patamon sat on the ground. 

"OK. Are the others coming?" 

Takeru answered. "I think Sam's gonna be here later today, though he's probably gonna have Mimi and Michael in tow. Hiroki's gonna be here too. You know how he gets when Hitomi's mentioned." 

Ryoko smirked a bit at that. "Does he even have any idea he has a crush on her?" 

"Probably not." Asuka replied. "That's what makes it all the more fun to watch." Her smile dropped a bit. "Well, it did. How is he doing, Takeru?" 

"Miserable, same as the rest of us." the boy answered frankly. "This bites! We faced down WarDevidramon, saved your mom," Takeru looked at Kyoko and Ryoko, "and now we're getting frozen out!" 

"Well, there's not a lot that we can do." Ryoko said angrily. "We don't even know where to start looking for her. The grownups are stumped, what chance do we have of doing anything?" 

"Grownups are only good at making simple things complicated." Takeru replied. At everyone else's incredulous look, he said, "What? My dad said that to me once!" 

"Sounds like something Davis would say." Asuka cracked. Getting serious again, she looked up, asking, "I wonder where she is now?" 

"Wherever it is," Kyoko said, "she's probably blaming herself for this. God, she is so much like her dad." 

"Got that right." Ryoko said. "Two weeks' allowance says she apologizes first when she gets back." 

"You're on." Kyoko replied. She could almost see Hitomi coming through a portal and apologizing for having been gone so long. Easily worth two weeks of allowance money. 

"I'm sure she's fine." Veemon said, standing beside Takeru. 

Ryoko looked around. "Why don't we head back to the house or something." Nodding, the kids and their partner digimon headed back to the Kamiya household. 

==Tokyo, Thursday noon 

Since she had found out that digimon were alive, well, and walking around the city (and blowing up small bits of it), Nami had asked that Takato and Henry meet with her on a semi-regular basis. She figured it would help keep the two out of trouble, as well as give them someone they could talk to if something bad happened. Today, Nami had told them about what was going on with Hitomi's birthday. 

"Wow, that must be terrible." Takato said. "Stuck here on her birthday. What can we do about it?" 

"Well, I'll take her to a nice restaurant I know, Eevee has an idea of what to get her. Maybe something from the two of you? Any ideas?" 

"Well, if you need a cake, I can talk my parents into making one." Takato offered. "I'm guessing something not digimon related would be the idea." 

Nami smiled, glad Takato had been able to think that far ahead. "Thanks. Maybe a guide to the city or something. I haven't had the time to look for anything for her." 

"I know a place to get one." Henry said. "I can get it, if Takato handles the cake." 

"It's a plan then. Is tomorrow after school alright? It'll be a day late, but I don't want to interfere with your school work." 

"Sure. I can't believe I'll be going to a teacher's house willingly." Henry joked. 

"Yeah. Hey, what should we tell our parents?" Takato asked. 

"The truth." Nami replied. "Hitomi's homesick, she's staying at my place, and she wanted a few friends over for her birthday. Just leave out the part about giant monsters." 

Takato scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, about that." 

Here it comes, Nami thought to herself. "OK," she sighed, "what happened." 

"Well, Jeri kinda found out about Guilmon. It wasn't my fault, she just kinda followed me." 

Nami rubbed her head, trying to massage the headache she felt coming. "Well, at least it was Jeri. You did explain that this was a secret, right?" Takato nodded, and Nami felt the pain subside a bit. "Good. At least someone like Kazu or Kenta didn't find out about it." 

"Well..." 

"Ah, nuts." Nami said, head hitting the desk. 

==Stone Town, Thursday afternoon. 

Kyle and June walked in the door. They were smiling a bit, but everyone there could tell how they were doing. Kari got up and embraced both of them, ushering them in. 

"Hey everyone." Kyle said weakly. 

Izzy put his hand on Kyle's shoulder. "Don't worry. I haven't given up yet. I promise we'll find her, no matter what." 

"You better believe it." Davis said, walking over to his sister and hugging her. "Once Izzy tells us where she is, we'll just go in and get her. Just like the old days." 

"Where's Melody?" June asked Davis. 

"With the kids. We're keeping an eye on them, I think Takeru wants to go find her as much as we do." 

"No 'think' about it," TK said, "he's a stubborn as you are." 

"What's that supposed to mean? I've mellowed!" Davis joked. After that, everyone relaxed a bit and started talking. A lot of it was directed at Kyle and June, reminding them that they weren't alone, and that they'd find out what happened to Hitomi soon enough. It went like this until Kyle walked over to Kari and asked her something. 

"Kari? I don't want to sound dumb, but where are Kyoko and Ryoko? It is their birthday, and we did bring them something." 

Kari sighed. "I know, but they refused. They told me they wanted to put off the party until Hitomi got back." Kari's eyes started to water a bit. "They said it wouldn't be right to have it without Hitomi around, and they were prepared to wait as long as it took." She sniffed a bit. "I never could say no to them." 

Kyle smiled. June walked over, having heard what Kari said. "Tell them we said thanks, Kari. I don't know how many times we've underestimated them." 

"You think we'd have learned after they saved Emiko." Cody said, walking over. 

Outside, the children, along with their partner digimon, as well as the digimon of their parents, were talking and playing. Davis' wife Melody was also there, playing a few songs for the kids. Takeru, who had brought his flute with him, joined his mother in playing a few songs, including what the kids called 'Lugia's song.' 

Hiroki, Cody and Noriko's son, came running back to the group. "Um, guys? I think we should get the grown ups out here." 

Ryoko looked at Hiroki. "Hey, didn't you say you'd be keeping an eye on Emiko? She could wander off into the Tauros pen again!" 

"I assure you, that will not happen this time." Everyone looked around, wondering where the voice came from. A field of blue energy appeared, and Mewtwo, one of the guardians of the digital world, stepped out of it, Emiko riding piggyback on the psychic pokemon's shoulders. 

"M..Mewtwo." Takeru breathed. As he watched Emiko, Kari and Izzy's youngest child, was surrounded in a field of energy, floated off of Mewtwo, and into his hands. Emiko squealed in delight. 

"I have information that may be useful in finding Hitomi. Please gather everyone here, I think you all have the right to hear this." Takeru started to run as soon as Hitomi's name was mentioned, then stopped, remembering he was holding Emiko. He turned to hand her to someone, then realized that Kyoko, Ryoko, and Hiroki had already covered half the distance to the house. 

A few minutes later, everyone was gathered around Mewtwo. Kyle and June were at the front, waiting. Mewtwo didn't need his psychic senses to see how badly they had taken their daughter's disappearance. "I apologize in advance if seems unrelated to Hitomi, but trust me, it is." Mewtwo gestured, and a series of oddly shaped creatures appeared, flying around the guardian. 

"Unown." Izzy breathed, recognizing them instantly. 

"Yes," Mewtwo replied, "they are Unown. They rarely make contact with humans, yet this time, they have a common cause with us. It seems that one of their own is missing as well." 

"Missing?" TK blinked. 

"Yes. Unown share a group conciousness, as well as having an individual identity. When an Unown is first...'born' would be the best term, it is not connected to the groupmind the way older Unown are. At the same time, the groupmind can connect with it, which can be a terrifying experience; having no privacy, having to adjust to the weight of mental energy it is in contact with." 

"What does that have to do with Hitomi?" Takeru asked, receiving an elbow from Asuka a second later. 

Mewtwo smiled a bit, remembering how much like his father the boy was. "As I said, the groupmind of the Unown can access any Unown, even those just born. Frequently, new Unown will enter this world, and remain here for a time until they adjust. I discovered one such memory that may prove useful. Observe." Mewtwo held up a hand, nimbus of psychic energy surrounding it. 

For a second, nothing happened. Then, everyone gasped as they suddenly found themselves inside a cave. "What...Hey! I see Hitomi!" Asuka said. "But where?" 

"It is some time ago. You are seeing things from the point of view of the Unown in question, only a few hours before Hitomi vanished." Everyone watched, seeing Hitomi, Eevee, and Noctowl try to catch the Unown. Then they 'watched' as Unown, now curious, flew into Hitomi's backpack, rode along with her to the pokemon center, and then felt its panic as Hitomi went through the digital gateway. There was a series of confusing images, then the memory stopped. 

"What...what was that?" Kyle asked. 

"As near as I can guess," Izzy said, going over what he had seen, "that Unown hitched a ride with Hitomi; it must have panicked when it entered the digital gateway." 

"Yes." Mewtwo said. "From what the other Unown have been able to gather, it tried to open a doorway back to its own dimension. The doorway interacted with the digital portal, which pulled Hitomi off course." 

"Yeah, but where?" Ken asked, stepping forward. "She's not in either the digital world, or the Dark Ocean." Ken blinked, thinking of something. "Hey, didn't Professor Hale say that her dad was pulled into another dimension by the Unown once?" 

"She is not there." Mewtwo said, a bit sadly. "I looked myself. But there is one more thing I should show you. Pay attention to this part of the memory." The digidestined watched as the last part of the memory played over again. Then it stopped, as if a pause button had been hit. "Look here, and tell me what you see." 

"I see a lot of green," Asuka said, "and...huh?" 

"Am I seeing...circuit boards?" Takeru asked. 

"There!" Izzy said, trying to point. Just before the image fades, I can see something ahead." The memory shifted, refocussed as Mewtwo and the Unown there helped to sharpen the image as best they could. 

"This is only moments before the tear in the digital portal sealed itself." Mewtwo explained. "What do you see." 

Everyone strained to look; it was Hiroki who picked it out. "Maildramon! And a Dark Tyrannomon!" 

"He's right! But how come digimon are there?" Davis asked. "They couldn't have been pulled through too, could they?" 

"I think," Ken said, realizing where this was going, "that they're natives. That bright flash, just before the memory cuts out? I think one of those digimon was digivolving!" 

"Another digital world?" 

Everyone stood there for a minute, stunned by the discovery. It was Kyoko who broke the silence. "You mean, she might be somewhere where there are other digidestined kids like us?" 

Mewtwo nodded, conceding the point. 

Kyoko couldn't meet Mewtwo's eyes for a second. Then, tears running down her face, yelled "That...that...BOY-HOG!" 

==Tokyo. After school 

Hitomi walked out of the school, slowly heading back to Ms. Asaji's apartment. She had managed to make it through the day, but some of the teachers there had noted her depression and had asked if she wanted to talk to one of the counselors there. She had managed to get out of it, saying she was just a bit homesick and all she needed was a bit of rest. 

"Hitomi! Wait up!" Jeri came running to where Hitomi was. "Sorry, I almost forgot my recorder again." 

"Jeri? What are you doing here." 

"Takato told me it was your birthday today." Jeri explained. "And, well, happy birthday." she finished, a bit lamely. Hitomi smiled, a bit sadly, which Jeri noticed. "Are you alright? You don't seem to happy about it." 

Hitomi and Jeri walked towards the park, and Hitomi explained a bit about how she always had her birthday parties with Kyoko and Ryoko. She left out the part about the monsters and dimensional traveling, of course. 

"That must be really bad." Jeri said. "Do you have any plans or anything?" Hitomi shook her head. Jeri thought for a moment, then said, "I got it! Why don't you come over to my house for a sleepover?" 

Hitomi thought about it. "I guess. Would it be OK with your parents?" 

Jeri smiled. "I'm sure it will be, I'll talk to them tonight and ask, and I can let you know tomorrow!" Jeri skipped ahead, leaving Hitomi behind. 

Hitomi stood there for a few seconds, watching her friend move on ahead, wishing she could be that happy with her life. "Thanks, Jeri." she said quietly, walking on. She caught up with Jeri, but decided not to stop by and visit Guilmon when they saw Takato trying to explain the digimon's presence to Kazu and Kenta. Wisely, they found a park bench and sat down. 

"So," Jeri asked, "how long have you had Eevee for a partner?" 

"Not quite a year. There was a big fight and all of a sudden, there he was. I'm sure he'd like to brag about his many battles," Hitomi sighed dramatically, getting a giggle out of Jeri, "but he's back at Ms. Asaji's. I don't trust him around the cafeteria food." 

"Can he really digivolve?" 

"Yeah, I managed to get a digiegg, like they have on the TV show." Hitomi had seen a few episodes of the TV series; they had gotten the first half right, but there was no sign of Kyle in the second season, and June was relegated to a minor role. "I don't know why Henry and Takato got those other digivices." She hated lying to Jeri. 

Fortunately, Jeri didn't notice. "Hitomi? Is there any chance...I could become a digidestined?" 

==Stone Town, Friday morning. 

Kyle and June got up, blinking the sleep out of their eyes. Kari and Izzy had insisted that they stay the night, offering them the guest room. As a matter of fact, several of the families had asked if they could stay over as well, with the result that a lot of the available floorspace had been taken up. Beside the bed, Growlithe, Eevee, and Elecmon slept soundly. 

"Well, good morning." June said, sitting up on the bed. 

"You too." Kyle replied, trying not to roll off the bed and land on Growlithe. "Where are we?" 

"Izzy and Kari's place, remember?" 

Kyle thought for a second, then remembered. "Right." Recalling more of yesterday, he went on. "I think I finally understand how my dad felt when I got pulled to the digital world." A pause. "Do you really think she's there? That she found her way to another digital world?" 

"You saw the memory Mewtwo showed us. And if there are digimon there, there must be digidestined as well." 

"Yeah." Kyle's body shook as he tried to supress a laugh. "Did Kyoko really call our daughter a 'boy hog'?" The two chuckled, remembering the scene.   
  
There was a knock at the door. "Can I come in?" Kari's voice asked. 

"Sure." June said, and Kari stepped in. The three exchanged pleasantries, and Kari managed to drag them out so they could have breakfast (No such dragging was required for the pokemon/digimon in the room. Kari just had to let the smell of pancakes drift into the room -ed). 

An hour later, all the older digidestined and their partner monsters were in Izzy's lab. Izzy had gotten up earlier, and had been checking what Mewtwo had told them. "I've been going over what Mewtwo told us. I think I know why Hitomi was pulled off course." 

"Well?" Kari asked, in her 'I will not strangle my husband. Yet.' voice. 

"Well," Izzy said a bit nervously, "As you know, when we open a portal, the digivices act as a sort of guide for the transit. In effect, they home in on the other side of the portal. When that Unown opened that portal to that other digital world, Hitomi's digivice must have mistook that digital world for our own." 

"But Hitomi wasn't going to the digital world." Ken said. 

"No, but the digital portal does pass through a layer of it, no matter where we go with it." 

"That doesn't help much." Yolei said. 

"Actually, it does." Izzy replied. "Now that I know what actually happened, and about when, finding where Hitomi went should be a bit easier. We're lucky she was only going from the Ruins to Stone Town; there's way fewer places that a detour like that could have taken her." 

Kyle held his wife's hand, not sure if he should start hoping again. "Then...?" 

"Well, we're going to have to build a completely new portal, one that can search through different worlds, lock onto Hitomi's digivice, and bring her home. If she really did hit another digital world, so much the better." 

"You can count us in." Ken said. Beside him, Yolei nodded. "But we're going to need an Unown to help us; we have to figure out what type of energy it releases when it opens dimensional gateways." 

"Mewtwo said he'd help us on that front." 

==Tokyo, Friday night 

For the first time in a few days, Hitomi was feeling a bit happier. She still missed home, but the impromptu party that Ms. Asaji had thrown for her had cheered her up a lot. The best part had been when Takato and Henry gave her a map book of Tokyo and a 1 month transit pass. After that, they had talked a while, told stories, then the two boys had to leave for home. A few hours later, Ms. Asaji and Hitomi were walking home from a nice restaurant. 

"So Jeri wants to become a Tamer too?" Nami asked, a bit worried. 

"Well, I tried to warn her off, tell her it was a lot of fighting, and this sort of thing doesn't just happen, but I think she's made her mind up. I think we'll just have to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't try to adopt the next digimon that shows up. What's aggravating is that I think she'd do OK as a digidestined, at least in my world." 

"That's just it," Nami said, "this isn't your world." She saw Hitomi's face fall a bit. "I'm sorry, but you know I'm right. What if she finds a digimon, then that other girl starts coming after her?" 

"You mean Rika?" Hitomi thought about it. "I don't know. Takato and Henry have run into her a few times, but she doesn't seem to be picking fights with them any more. It was just that first time. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a few days now." The two walked for a few minutes in silence. 

"Oh," Nami said, "I almost forgot." The teacher pulled a large rectangular package out of a bag she had brought with her. "Happy 11th birthday, Hitomi." 

Curious, Hitomi accepted the gift and opened it. "An artbook? But how...?" 

"Eevee told me. He said you like drawing pokemon, so I thought you might like it. I have a few pencils for you too." 

"This must have cost-" 

"None of that now." Nami said, smiling. "Teachers do get a discount on educational supplies, right?" She winked conspiratorily at Hitomi, then held the girl as she began crying. "Don't worry, Hitomi. We'll find your way home, I promise." 

Next Episode:   
Yamaki has managed to uncover the identities of two of the tamers, Henry and Hitomi. Henry's father is approached by Hypnos agents to help in Yamaki's quest to destroy all digimon, while Hitomi is forced into a confrontation with Rika and Renamon. An unexpected appearance by Calumon and Unown forces Hitomi to make a difficult decision. Next time on Digicross Tamers:   
'The road home' 


	8. Digicross Tamers 08 The Road Home?

Digicross Tamer episode 8   
'The Road Home.' 

==Tokyo, Hypnos main labs 

Yamaki looked over the photos that Reilly had taken several days ago. "Quite impressive what we can do with photographs these days." he said to no one in particular. He faced the technician that had brought him the enhanced photos. "Any IDs, aside from the Wong boy?" 

The tech shook his head. "No sir. We couldn't get an accurate reconstruction of the other boy in the photo; there's just not enough information to get any sort of reliable identification." 

Yamaki held up one of the photos. "What about her?" he asked, indicating the picture of a young girl. 

The tech shook his head again. "That's the odd thing, sir. We've checked every database we can find, both in Japan and outside it. We even went through several missing persons' files, but it's like she doesn't exist. We have a few possibilities, but they're all extremely unlikely." 

Yamaki thought for a few seconds. Could she be a digimon herself, he wondered. Passing herself off as a human would be the perfect disguise. "Have our agents keep an eye on Henry Wong, and keep an eye out for this girl as well. He may meet up with her." The tech nodded, and walked away. 

Sitting at his desk, Yamaki reviewed what little he knew about the recent spate of digimon appearances. He recalled what Talli had said about those multiple signatures, and how some of them had displayed biological, and not digital, readings. And how they hadn't come from what was being called the 'digital world'. 

Yamaki stood up, walked out the door. "I'm going for a walk. If I find anything, I'll call it in." he said to the supervisor, who nodded. 

==Wong Home 

"So, it's a deal then?" 

Janyu Wong thought about it for a second. "I guess so, Ms..." 

"Reilly, please. Alright, if that's everything, I guess we'll see you at work on Monday. Welcome aboard." Reilly shook Janyu's hand, smiling as she did so. 

"Well, heaven knows we need the extra money. Schooling three kids is not cheap these days. Plus I like the description; 'Research into unusual applictions of digitally constructed artificial intelligence'. Sounds like a computer science fiction movie." 

Reilly grinned. "It's pretty obscure, but you should be able to handle it." 

"Where is this place, anyway?" 

Reilly pointed to a part of the city skyline. "See those two towers there? That's it. Even the commute's not going to be bad. And there's this lovely little bakery on the way; I stop there all the time." The two exchanged pleasantries, then Reilly left. 

As she left the apartment, Reilly's phone began to ring. "Hello?" 

Yamaki's voice came over the small speaker. "Well?" 

"He's agreed to work for Hypnos, sir." 

"Excellent. Does he suspect anything?" 

Reilly held back a sigh. "I don't know. If he knows his son has a digimon, he didn't let on. Of course, why would he tell it to a government organization?" As she spoke, she could almost hear Yamaki frowning. 

"We'll have to keep him and the others isolated. They may be attached to their... creations." 

Several counter arguments came to Reilly's mind, but she pushed them aside. The further their research went on digimon, the more obsessed Yamaki became with destroying them. "Understood." 

==Downtown Tokyo, a few hours later. 

Hitomi Motomiya walked back to Ms. Asaji's apartment, taking a slight detour to look at some of the places listed in the guidebook she had recieved for her birthday. "It's like walking through a history book." she said quietly. 

Eevee, perched on her shoulder, nodded. "Yeah. Can't believe how much changed in only two decades. Of course, Tokyo Tower's still there." 

"I wonder why things always happened there in those anime tapes Uncle Davis showed me. Or why the bad guys always picked on Tokyo." 

Eevee shrugged. "Who knows?" The two walked around the shops and stores, looking a bit like tourists. 

As they did, they failed to notice Yamaki. He had come onto the street a few minutes before, then stopped dead when he saw Hitomi. "It's her." he said, recognizing her from the photo. All the technology of Hypnos to try and identify the mystery girl, and it was his dumb luck to just walk into her on the street. Briefly, he considered calling in backup, having a team trail her to wherever she was hiding out and just bring her in. Just as quickly, he discarded the idea. This was his fight, and he was going to get the answers he needed. A part of him balked at trying to interrogate what looked like a perfectly normal 11 year old girl, but he ignored it, reminding himself what digimon were capable of, and that this girl might be the link he needed. 

==Park 

Terriermon and Guilmon played just outside the small hut that Guilmon stayed in. As they did, Takato, Henry, and his father sat there and watched the two digimon. "I can't believe it." Janyu said quietly, watching the digimon play around. "I wish the other Monster Makers were here; we could get that thesis we wrote changed to an A+, I'm sure." 

Takato blinked. "Monster Makers?" 

Janyu smiled a bit, remembering happier days. "We were a group of computer programmers back when I was in college. We even did a thesis on artificial intelligence." His smile grew, realizing what he was about to say. "We even created virtual 'pets' on our computer, to demonstrate the project." 

"Really?" Takato asked. "That sounds pretty neat. What did you call them?" 

"Maybe you've heard of them. We called them digital monsters." 

Henry, wide eyed, stared at his father. "Dad? Are you saying you...created digimon?" 

"Indirectly. The project was shut down, we thought it was because the department couldn't afford to keep the computers we needed running for the project. Later, we found out that someone did recover the data and used it as the basis for digimon." Seeing his son's look, he added "We were a bit annoyed, but there wasn't a lot we could do about it. Besides, we helped create something kids all over the world are enjoying. And my new job pays well enough as it is." 

Terriermon and Guilmon wandered over, listening to Janyu speaking. "So I guess that makes us your grand kids." Terriermon said. 

"Terriermon!" 

"It's all right Henry. In a way, I guess we are. You know, there was one man on the group who said that digimon would live on even after the project was ended. I wonder where he is now? Mizuno would get a kick out of seeing he was right." 

"Mizuno?" Takato asked. 

"He was responsible for building the evolution program for the digimon we created. He said that that piece of code went beyond simply adapting digimon to the virtual environment; it would lead them to become actual life forms in the future. I guess he was right." Janyu sighed. "But I've rambled enough. Henry told me how Terriermon came here, but he said Guilmon was different?" 

Takato briefly described how Guilmon was created. "Interesting." Janyu said, thinking. "If he'd evolved from another digimon, I could understand, but it sounds like Guilmon was spontaneously created. Can I see your digivice?" Takato handed his D-arc to Henry's father. "It looks like the remote units we designed, but we never actually built them. We designed them so we could keep track of individual entities, loading them into the digivice and carrying them around. A bit like those virtual pets they sell at the toy store now. How did you get this...what did you call it?" 

"D-arc." Henry said. "since we could use cards from the game to alter our digimon, I figured I'd get cute and use that for the name." 

"Card...D-arc...you must get that sense of humour from your mom. I suppose if this was formed from a card reader...this is way beyond anything we were thinking of." 

"Well, it gets worse." Takato said. "Jeri wants to be a tamer now, too." 

"Any way we can steer her away?" Henry asked. 

"I don't even know how I became a tamer." Takato replied. "With my luck, I'd be better off just giving her a digivice and one of the Dark Masters." Takato said nothing for a minute, just sat there watching Guilmon. "Would it really be that bad, though?" 

"Are you serious?" 

"Henry, she's one of the sweetest girls I know! She'd be a great tamer!" 

"Growlmon." Henry said, stopping Takato. "Hey, I like Jeri too, but do you really think she'd be able to handle a digimon if it went out of control?" He saw Takato's expression fall. "Look, I'm sorry, but you know I'm right. We still don't know why digimon are showing up here. I don't think we should be looking for prospective tamers." 

"That looks like fun, can I join?" a small voice asked 

Takato spun around, looking for the source of the voice. "Who said that?" 

"Not me." Henry replied. 

"Down here!" The three humans looked down, and saw a small white creature with oversized ears. As they watched, the ears retracted. Beside the creature was an odd looking...thing. It had a round body with a single eye in the center, and a small 't' shape on the top of the circle. 

Henry took out his D-arc, scanning the two creatures. "I'm not getting anything on them." he said. Beside him, Takato nodded, also trying to get a reading on the two creatures. "Are you digimon?" 

Calumon nodded. "Yup! Well, I am, anyway." With that, Calumon flew by the boys and jumped on Guilmon's head. Unown floated over, watching his friend carefully. 

==Downtown Tokyo. 

Hitomi felt Eevee, still perched on her shoulder, tense up. "Hitomi, we're being followed." 

It was Hitomi's turn to tense. "By who?" 

"Didn't get a good look. Tall guy, sunglasses, suit. Don't turn around, he might panic and rush us." Eevee took a breath, then spoke again, using calming tones trying to reassure Hitomi. "I might be wrong. Make a few turns, down the streets. Walk quickly, but stay in sight of as many people as possible." Hitomi nodded slightly, and headed away. 

Yamaki saw Hitomi pick up her pace a bit, and started following her. Did she see me, he wondered. 

After several minutes, Eevee spoke again. "He's still there. OK, listen, we have to lose this guy now. Turn here, and get ready to run as soon as I give the word, all right?" Hitomi nodded, trying not to panic. Her body was starting to tremble, the fear of being attacked, out of reach of her friends and family, almost overtaking her. "I'm here," Eevee continued, "and you can call Ms. Asaji when you get a chance. If worse comes to worse, I'll take care of that creep myself. I won't let anything happen to you, promise." Hitomi nodded, and kept walking. Then, as she turned a corner, she broke into a blind run. She didn't hear or see much, aside from Eevee's instruction to turn left, right, or wait at a crosswalk. 

Yamaki turned a corner, and just made out the girl he had been following running away. "She must have spotted me." he snarled, starting to run after her. 

The chase went on for several minutes, leading them into a residential area. "OK, we lost him for a moment." Eevee whispered. "Duck into that yard and hide behind the fence! He can't see through it and he can't climb over it. Go!" Hitomi grabbed the side of the fence, almost tripped, and hid behind some of the bushes, back against the fence. It wouldn't protect her if her pursuer came into the yard, but Eevee promised he would only need a few seconds. 

Outside, Yamaki scowled, trying to locate Hitomi. If her movements were any indication, he reasoned, she must have been scared. She's probably hiding in one of these yards. I go in, calm her down, and get the information I need out of her...Yamaki advanced to one of the yards, approaching the entrance. 

"May I help you?" a stern voice asked. Yamaki looked, and saw a lady, old but still attractive. She radiated disapproval. 

"Forgive me, I was looking for a girl, about-" he was about to give a description, but the lady cut him off. 

"Well you can keep on looking, mister. I don't know where perverts like you get off chasing young girls around, or why you think you can come here and invade my property. Now get going or I'll call the police." The lady hadn't raised her voice, but Yamaki could tell she was very, very angry right now. 

"I assure you-" 

"I assure YOU that I will call the police in five seconds." The lady took a cell phone out of her purse. "Five. Four. Three." At three, Yamaki backed off, and walked away from the entrance to the yard. 

Sighing and shaking her head, Yuka put the cell phone back in her purse and walked in. She had seen the young girl run into her yard, and could tell that she was scared of the man coming after her. She looked around the yard, and quickly spotted the girl. Beside her, she saw something that vaguely looked like a pet badger crossed with a rabbit. "He's gone now. You can come out." she said in her calmest voice. 

== 

Across town, Gabumon looked up. Since coming to the Real World, he had done little more than chase blindly through the back alleys, looking for the Light. He was about ready to give up. He had come across some digimon, and had managed, barely, to defeat them, absorbing their data as they fell. 

"I come all this way, and I still wind up fighting my own kin. I have to digivolve again, or I won't be strong enough to find the light of digivolution! If I only knew what form it had taken, or even how it would act." Also troubling him was the growing sense that there was something else he was looking for, something that had started when the digital field had faded, permitting him to move freely around the city. On instinct, he started heading towards the park he had gotten a glimpse of a few days ago. Even if his goal wasn't there, it would smell a lot nicer... 

== 

Once Calumon had introduced himself, he had had a wild time playing with Guilmon. Terriermon had backed off, letting the two digimon play around. "Hey, Takato, is he something you drew up too?" 

"Why do you ask that?" 

"Well, they both act like little kids." 

"Yeah, I guess...HEY!" 

"Terriermon!" Henry gave his partner a light rap on the head. "So, the digimon's name is Calumon?" Terriermon nodded, rubbing the back of his skull. "And what about the other one?" 

"You mean the floating squiggle?" Guilmon asked, overhearing Henry. "Calumon says his name's Unown." 

"How'd you know that?" Takato asked. 

"I asked, silly." 

Henry looked at Guilmon, suddenly concerned. "Guilmon, are you sure he didn't say 'Unownmon' or something like that?" 

Calumon answered. "No, his name's Unown. Not that he doesn't know his name, that's just what his name is." 

Takato saw where Henry was going. "Calumon, is Unown...a pokemon?" 

== 

Yuka escorted Hitomi and Eevee inside the house, and gave them some tea to calm them down. "You just rest there. I don't know if that pervert is still hanging around, so I'll wait until my daughter and granddaughter get home, and see about having someone escort you to a safe place." Hitomi nodded. Yuka walked out, leaving Hitomi to rest. 

When she had left, Eevee whispered to Hitomi. "You'd better call Ms. Asaji and let her know where you are. She's probably worried sick." Nodding, Hitomi pulled out her poke gear and dialed. 

"Hitomi, is that you?" was the first thing Hitomi heard. Eevee was right, Ms. Asaji sounded worried. 

"I'm fine now, Ms. Asaji." Hitomi took a breath, then told the teacher what happened, and where she was now. 

"My god...Stay there, I'll be right over!" There was a click, indicating the teacher had hung up. 

A few minutes later, Yuka walked back in. "My daughter just called, she should be in soon, and she can take you where you need to go." 

"Actually, I just talked to the person I'm staying with, and she said she'd come here to pick me up. Did you want me to call her back and tell her to meet me somewhere else?" 

"Oh no, of course not! It's probably for the best anyway." Yuka chuckled. "I'm sorry, I've been rude. My name is Yuka. Nonaka Yuka." 

"Motomiya Hitomi. And this is my...pet, Eevee." Eevee fought the urge to snap back, but Yuka did notice the creature bristle a bit. 

Smiling, Yuka scratched the pokemon between the ears. "Well hello there, Eevee. Nice to meet you too." 

"Mom?" a voice called, "I'm home!" Another woman walked into the kitchen, smiling. The first thing Hitomi noticed was how beautiful the woman was. She must be a fashion model, she guessed. She was dressed very nicely, too. "Oh," she said, "we have a guest? Did my daughter finally start making friends?" 

"Now, Rumiko," Yuka said, "the poor girl has been through a nasty shock." 

"What? Oh, you poor dear." Rumiko said to Hitomi. "You know, you look a bit like my own daughter. She should be here in a few minutes, you know how she likes to walk home alone all the time." 

"Mom? Grandma? I'm-" The latest arrival stopped speaking, stopped moving as she stuck her head in the kitchen. Eevee hopped off the table, stood beside Hitomi, ready to start fighting if needed. 

Rika Nonaka and Hitomi Motomiya stared at each other, unable to speak. 

"Oh," Rumiko said, "do you know each other?" 

== 

Henry got back to where Calumon and Unown were playing with Guilmon. "No answer." he said. 

"Ms. Asaji's not home? Talk about a bad time to be out. Hey, what about Hitomi's poke gear?" 

"We don't have the number; I forgot to ask her for it last time I saw her." Henry kicked a pebble, frustrated. "If Unown really is another pokemon, we should tell her. For all we know, that thing might be the key to her getting home!" At the mention of Hitomi's name, Unown stopped moving, and looked at Henry intently. "Did I say something?" 

Janyu looked at Henry. "What's a pokemon?" 

"It's a long story, but I'd rather Hitomi told you; you wouldn't believe it coming from me." 

Calumon looked at Unown, making some odd noises that Henry and Takato guessed to be its way of speaking. "I don't think Unown wants to meet Hitomi. She scares him." 

"Hitomi? Why?" 

Calumon looked at Henry oddly. "Unown says it's 'cause she'll make him go home, and he doesn't want to yet." 

"What's so bad about going home?" Terriermon asked. 

Unown made some more noises, which Calumon translated. "Unown says he likes it here. There aren't any voices trying to tell him what to do." 

"I hear voices in my head sometimes, when I'm asleep." Guilmon said. "I think Takatomon said they're called dreams." 

They can dream?, Janyu almost said. That removed any doubt as to digimon being sentient beings. 

"Knowing your dreams, they probably involve eating." Terriermon said quietly, earning another rap on his head. Looking up, he saw Henry's 'this is serious' face, and quieted down. 

==Nonaka household. 

Rumiko ushered Hitomi to Rika's room, assuming that, since the two were obviously friends, they probably had a lot to catch up on. As Rika was about to enter, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Grandma?" 

"I don't know everything that you've been up to, Rika, but please be nice to her, just for today?" Seeing Rika's confused look, Yuka went on. "Some pervert was chasing her around town, and she was very frightened when I found her. She said the person she's staying with is coming to pick her up, so please keep her entertained for a while, OK?" 

Rika sighed. "OK, grandma." Rika entered her room, where Hitomi was. The two stayed seated for a few minutes, not saying anything. 

Renamon appeared, causing Hitomi to jump. "Rika, I'm-" Eevee jumped in front of Renamon, ready to attack. "I see we have guests." Renamon said, also getting into a fighting pose. 

"Wait." Renamon looked at Rika, and backed off. Hitomi pulled Eevee back, telling the pokemon to calm down. "My grandma told me you were being chased by some freak job, so don't worry about a fight today." 

Unable to speak, Hitomi nodded. 

"Look," Rika went on, "I know all about where you came from, and how you got here. And I know about pokemon, and that I can't get any data from them, so If it's that big a deal to you, I'll just leave you alone." 

Rika's tone got Hitomi's temper up. "You shouldn't be 'loading data' at all. You're just destroying digimon to get stronger. That's...stupid!" 

"Stupid? Digimon fight, that's it. Besides, would you want that Tankmon running around town right now? I don't know how they do things where you come from, but here, it's the strongest that survive." 

Eevee looked at Renamon. "And your opinion?" 

"Her opinion is mine; I want to be the strongest digimon, she wants to be the best Tamer." 

"That's dumb, you're already strong enough." Eevee replied. Renamon blinked at the unexpected compliment. "I'm surprised you haven't digivolved already." 

"Like goggle head and dino-boy?" Rika snorted. "When Renamon digivolves, she'll be strong and in control of herself. And Renamon saw everything that happened, that's how I know all about Growlmon's little hissy fit." 

== 

Outside, Nami Asaji ran into the front yard of the Nonaka home. "Hitomi? Where are you?" Behind her, Noctowl landed on one of the fence posts. 

Rumiko walked out. "Are you Ms. Asaji? Hitomi's...Nami?" 

Nami stopped, looking at the woman. "Rumiko?" 

"Oh, Nami, it's been years since we saw each other last! How have you been?" 

Yuka walked out. "Rumiko, what's all the...Nami! It's been a while. I thought you had moved to America after you had graduated!" 

Nami bowed. "It's good to see you again, Ms. Nonaka." 

"Please, you can call me Yuka now. Did Hitomi call you?" 

"Yes. Is she here?" 

"Yes," Rumiko replied. "She's with my daughter in her room right now. I had no idea they knew each other. She's such a darling," Rumiko went on, "you must be so proud of her." 

"Actually, she's just staying with me, she's visiting Japan for the year." 

"Oh." Rumiko said, impressed. "She's that young, and she's here on her own? She must get awfully homesick. Listen, tell her she can come over any time she wants to. I'll just go get her now." Rumiko exited the room. 

"She hasn't changed." Nami remarked. 

Yuka smiled. "In some ways, maybe. You look like you've done well for yourself, Nami." 

"Stress and long hours aside, I guess. If I knew what teaching was going to be like, I might have followed Rumiko." 

"It's not all smiles and camera angles." Yuka replied. "You really care about Hitomi, don't you." 

Nami nodded. "I'll miss her when she goes home." She heard Rumiko coming back, and fought back the emotion she was feeling. "Hitomi, are you...?" She stopped, recognizing Rika. Rika acted about the same way. Hitomi shook her head slightly. "Oh, I'm glad you're all right. Did you want to go home now?" 

"I think I'd better." Hitomi replied. Eevee, perched on her shoulder, yipped in agreement. 

"Perhaps Rika should go with you." Yuka suggested. 

"It's OK, Ms. Nonaka," Hitomi protested, "I'm sure we can-" 

"Oh, nonsense," Rumiko replied, cutting Hitomi off, "Rika knows all the quick ways to get around town. She'll have you home in no time!" 

== 

Rika led Ms. Asaji, Hitomi, and Eevee down the road. Noctowl flew above them, landing on lampposts whenever he got too far ahead. It was an awkward silence; no one really knew what to say. It was Henry, digivice out, that broke the silence. "Hitomi," he panted, "I've been looking for you all over. We have to get to the park now." 

"The park? Why?" 

Henry took another breath to calm himself down, then answered. "We found a pokemon there." Hitomi's eyes went wide, and she looked at Eevee and Noctowl. 

Rika looked at Hitomi, not understanding her reaction. "Isn't it yours?" Rika asked, causing Hitomi to blink. 

"Who? Eevee and Noctowl are the only Pokemon with me." 

"Not the Unown?" 

Hitomi just stared at Rika. "U...Unown?" 

== 

The group ran into the park, Hitomi having a slight lead over them. Beside her, Eevee and Noctowl did their best to keep up with the trainer. "Could it really be an Unown?" 

"It must be," Eevee replied between breaths, "they're pretty hard to mistake. Up ahead, there's Takato and Henry's dad!" 

"Hitomi!" Takato said. "You gotta see this. Henry thinks it's a pokemon!" 

Hitomi looked where Takato was pointing. PLaying with GUilmon, was a small black creature, bizarrely shaped. "It's..." 

"That's the Unown we saw at Alph." Eevee whispered. "Could it...could that be why we got pulled here?" 

Calumon flew over. "Hi! Did you want to play with us?" The digimon looked closer at Hitomi. "Hey, are you Hitomi?" His expression fell. "Are you going to make him go home now?" Behind him, Unown seemed to panic, edging away from Calumon and Hitomi. "I hope not, because he says he really likes being here with me." 

"But..." Hitomi stammered. 

Rika ran up to the group. "Yeah, that's him." SHe said, indicating Unown. "That's the one that told me about Hitomi." 

Janyu was barely able to follow any of this. "What about Hitomi? Henry, what's going on here?" 

All of this was lost to Hitomi, thoughts of being able to go home pushing everything else aside. Reflexively, she pulled out an empty pokeball. "Eevee, Noctowl, get ready!" The two pokemon stood by her side. 

"What are you doing?" Henry asked. "Calumon said Unown didn't want to go home?" 

"I....I..." Hitomi tried to calm down. "I do. Pokeball-" 

"Don't do it!" Calumon said, flying in front of Unown. Unconciously, he tried to throw up a barrier to stop Hitomi's expected attack. As he did, Unown used his own power. 

"What's happening?" Guilmon looked around, feeling a surge of energy suddenly appear. 

Terriermon looked around, seeing the familiar mist appear. "Is it a Digital Field?" 

"No," Renamon answered, concerned, "this feels different! Rika, look-" There was a huge flash of light and a dull roar, blotting everything in the park out. 

== 

"Sir! There's a huge digital rift forming in the park!" Talli yelled. 

Yamaki scowled. "How big?" 

"It's...it's of the scale..." 

== 

As he neared the park, Gabumon felt the energy. "It must be the light. It must be in trouble!" Gabumon ran towrds the park, certain his destiny was near. 

Unnoticed, Impmon was following the digimon, wondering what he was up to. "Must be something big happening over there." he observed. "Well, if it is, I can take it before that walking throw rug knows what hit him!" 

Next Episode: 

Thinking that Unown might be the key to getting home, Hitomi tries to catch the pokemon, in spite of Unown's and Calumon's protests. The misunderstanding escalates into a battle, and Rika is forced to learn a hard lesson about who is really responsible for a digimon's digivolution. Next time on Digimon: Digicross:   
'Bewitching Beast Kyuubimon.' 


	9. Digicross Tamers 09 Bewitching Beast Ky...

Digicross Tamers Episode 9  
'Bewitching Beast Kyuubimon'  
  
==Hypnos Scanning Dome  
  
"Sir!" Reilly called from her seat. "I'm picking up a massive signal!"  
  
"Another bio-emergence?"  
  
"No," Talli replied, not quite panicking, "It's a rift!"  
  
"Calm down." Yamaki snapped. "Reilly, number of Wild Ones in that  
area?"  
  
Reilly checked her readouts. "Five....no seven currently. Though that  
could easily go up if that rift holds."  
  
"Blast it. We're not ready yet. Status of the Yuugoth system?"  
  
One of the technicians looked up. "It's not ready yet. The only way  
it'd work is if the digimon came here. Any further, I can't guarantee we'd  
hit, or what effect it would have on biological organisms."  
  
==Park  
  
"What's happening" Takato yelled, flung back by the force of the  
explosion.  
  
All the digimon there tensed up. "Something's coming." Terriermon  
said."When Calumon and Unown did...whatever they did, I think they opened  
up something really nasty. And I don't mean a can of lima beans!"  
  
Janyu looked up where Calumon and Unown had been a second ago. "What is  
THAT?" he yelled, pointing at a greenish-white column of light  
  
"I think it's a portal!" Eevee yelled. "To where, I don't know!"  
  
==Digital World, only a few minutes before everything went all to pot...  
  
The two groups of digimon had been fighting for hours now. Ever since  
they had lost the ability to digivolve, they had fallen on each other,  
former allies now trying to gain more power, regardless of the cost.  
  
One one side, a small group of Pteramon. The other, Flybeemon. Missiles  
and bolts of electricity had been thrown back and forth between the two  
groups of digimon, both sides diminishing as attacks struck, and data was  
absorbed.  
  
In the end, there were only two Pteramon left, and five Flybeemon.  
"You're outnumbered," the lead Flybeemon growled, drained after the  
prolonged battle.  
  
"And you're outgunned." The Pteramon replied. "You took many of my  
bretheren, bug, but I will take them back when I load your data." The two  
digimon stared at each other, waiting for the next attack.  
  
A second later, they all saw it. A bright beam of light coming from the  
small green sphere that floated in the sky. Instantly, both sides forgot  
the fight. Myths and stories about being able to digivolve there filled  
their heads as they both flew into the transport beam...  
  
==Hypnos  
  
"Confirmed! Seven more signals, definitely Wild Ones." Talli reported.  
"They'll appear in 20 seconds!"  
  
"Analysis on the rift; wave pattern matches that of one of the unknown  
signals we recorded several weeks ago." A signal came through on her  
headset. "It's the Cabinet, sir. They want to talk to you right now."  
  
Yamaki nodded. A second later, a man's face appeared on part of the  
Scanning Dome. "Yamaki, what's going on over there? Everything connected to  
the Net has gone haywire, and I'm seeing reports of bright lights and giant  
  
animals appearing in the downtown park!"  
  
"It's what we've always feared would happen; a stable rift has  
appeared and Wild Ones have used it as a point of entry into our world."  
Yamaki did not point out that he could have done something if his budget  
had been a bit  
bigger.  
  
The minister frowned. "What do we do then? Didn't you say you had some  
sort of anti-Wild One weapon in the works?"  
  
"It's not ready yet; we still lack the ability to target it accurately  
from here. What we need is some kind of relay system, as well as a massive  
amount of power to fire the weapon."  
  
"Fine. I'll have the government direct more power to your weapon; we'll  
tell the citizens there was a blackout or something. Satellite K-147 is  
over your area. Will that suffice?"  
  
Yamaki resisted the urge to smile. "It will sir. My thanks."  
  
"Just make sure this works."  
  
==  
  
"Pteramon." Henry said, checking his digivice. "Armour level digimon,  
Data type. High flying digimon that uses its Sidewinder attack to destroy  
its opponents. And that," he continued, indicating the smaller red digimon,  
"is Flybeemon. Also armour level, Data type insect digimon. It can fire  
that stinger on its tail, and use an electric attack it calls Fly Spark."  
  
"Piece of cake." Rika said, pulling out a card (Battle Tomahawk, if you  
must know -ed).  
  
"Takatomon? I don't see any fog!" Everyone looked around.  
  
"Fog?" Janyu asked.  
  
"He must mean a digital field," Takato answered. "It's  
what...keeps..." Takato looked at Henry, wide eyed. "Are you telling me  
there's nothing keeping these digimon in the park? They could wreck half  
the city!"  
  
"Where's Calumon and Unown?" Hitomi asked. "We might need them to close  
that... portal...whatever it is." Hitomi looked at the portal. Noctowl  
landed beside her, also looking. He then bowed his head, indicating it  
wasn't what they hoped it was. "Maybe we can lead those digimon back  
through the portal?"  
  
"They won't leave willingly." Renamon replied. "Many digimon dream of  
coming to the Real World to become stronger. Some believe that loading the  
data of a digimon that has a Tamer will be enough to let them digivolve."  
  
"In other words," Eevee replied sourly, "we're all targets. Just  
peachy." Beside him, Noctowl ruffled his feathers, waiting for the attack.  
  
"I don't think we're the targets" Nami mentioned, looking at the newly  
arrived Digimon. Looking up, the other tamers and digimon realized she was  
right. After appearing here, the swarm of digimon seemed more intent on  
destroying each other than fighting them.  
  
==  
  
Outside Park, Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta watched the flare of light  
dissipate, then saw several...things... cartwheeling around in the sky,  
firing at each other.  
  
"Is...are those digimon?" Jeri asked, backing up. "Why are they  
fighting each other?"  
  
"Takato has all the luck" Kenta breathed.  
  
"You call this luck?" Jeri shot back. "He could be hurt in there!"  
  
"Are you kidding? There's digimon popping out of the woodwork! Maybe  
I'll find one to be my partner!" Kazu said, grinning. Calumon and Unown  
chose that moment to stagger out of the shrubbery, singed from the energy  
the two  
released. "Woah. Talk about service."  
  
Jeri knelt down. "Are you two alright?" she asked. Unown floated up,  
while Calumon nodded, still woozy from the explosion. "Are you...digimon?"  
  
"A creampuff and a flying ad for Alpha-Getti?" Kazu said skeptically.  
"Get crucial, Jeri."  
  
"I am too a digimon." Calumon insisted. "I'm just a little worn  
out..." Calumon nodded off, energy drained. Unown moved closer to Calumon,  
trilling as it did so.  
  
Another digimon showed up at that moment, crashing through the brush on  
the opposite side of the path that Calumon and Unown came through. "Dude,  
it's Gabumon!" Kazu exclaimed, eyes wide and sparkling (think 'Jeri's  
Quest'. Scary, no? -ed). "Now that's a digimon."  
  
Gabumon looked at the three humans, wondering if they were crazy.  
"Umm...hello?"  
  
"OK, I'm Kazu, and I'm gonna be your Tamer."  
  
"No fair!" Kenta groused.  
  
"Deal, chumley, I saw him first."  
  
"Tamer? Look, I'm searching for-" Gabumon stopped as his eyes fell on  
Jeri and Calumon. "It's him! Please, you must give him to me!"  
  
Calumon opened his eyes, looking at the newcomer. "You're...NO!" The  
small digimon started squirming in Jeri's arms, trying to get free. "Go  
away, I don't want to go back!"  
  
"What is it?" Jeri asked, confused by Calumon's reaction. She saw  
Gabumon start to move towards her, so she stood up and started backing  
away. "Keep away from me! He doesn't want to go with you!"  
  
"You don't understand, he's needed back in the digital world. I must  
take him with me!" He stopped as Kenta stood between Gabumon and Jeri.  
"Please, I don't want to hurt any of you."  
  
"Well, you'll have to go through me to get...whatever that thing is!"  
Kenta yelled.  
  
"You mean us!" Kazu said, joining Kenta. "If you think you're gonna  
make me look bad in front of the girl, forget it." he whispered to Kenta. A  
second later, Unown floated itself in front of the two boys.  
  
Gabumon stared at the entity. "What is that thing?" Eyes narrowing,  
Gabumon decided it was an enemy. "You won't stop me. Blue Blaster!"  
  
==  
  
"Jeri?" Guilmon looked around. "I just heard Jeri."  
  
"What?" Takato asked. "Where?"  
  
"Over there."  
  
"Go." Henry said, hoping the battling digimon didn't notice them. "If  
anything happens, we'll take care of it." Takato nodded, and moved off,  
Guilmon following him.  
  
One of the Pteramon dodged an attack by the remaining Flybeemon, looked  
down, and saw the humans and digimon. Screaming, he dove down, firing  
missiles. Eevee blocked the attack with his energy field, while Renamon,  
seeing the opening, attacked.  
  
"Digi-modify! Battle Tomahawk, activate!" As the others watched, a  
small axe materialized in Renamon's hands, which she hurled at Pteramon. It  
struck, and the armour digimon was quickly destroyed. Renamon landed,  
absorbing the data as she did so. "The rest of you had better get out of  
here." she warned.  
  
"Yeah right," Rika started to say, before a hard shove knocked her  
down. As she fell, she caught a faint whiff of ozone. Angrily, she pulled  
herself up, ready to yell at whoever had pushed her. As she got up, she saw  
it was Hitomi, who promptly collapsed, jacket smoking slightly. One of the  
Flybeemon, wondering where the other Pteramon was going, had broken off and  
  
followed it down. It had been the insect digimon's plan to ambush one of  
these new digimon, then he had changed targets to the humans, when he saw  
Rika use that card to upgrade Renamon's attack power.  
  
Nami ran over, grabbing Hitomi's unconcious body. "Hitomi? Hitomi, wake  
up!" A sound distracted Nami and Rika from checking on Hitomi. They watched  
as Eevee and Noctowl fell on the Flybeemon, Noctowl battering the digimon  
with his wings and launching waves of psychic energy at it, then pulling  
back as Eevee jumped on, intent on shredding Flybeemon, from all  
appearances. "Eevee, wait!" Nami yelled.  
  
"He's gone berserk." Henry said, watching. "We have to stop him!"  
  
"On it!" Terriermon said, running over ant trying to tackle Eevee. "OK,  
you've proved your point! Let him go already!" Snarling, Eevee didn't  
respond, headbutting Terriermon and returning his attentions to the  
Flybeemon he was trying to maul. "A little help here?" Terriermon yelled at  
Noctowl. The owl pokemon nodded, and flew over. Cawing loudly, Noctowl got  
Eevee's attention, then hypnotised the digital pokemon, putting it to  
sleep.  
  
"You could have done that sooner." Terriermon complained. Noctowl  
looked at Terriermon, cooing as he did. "Get it out of his system, right."  
Terriermon looked up at the Flybeemon, now advancing on the group. He saw  
one of them  
absorbing the remains of the other Pteramon.  
  
==  
  
Gabumon and Unown fired blasts of energy at each other; all the while,  
Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri, still holding Calumon, kept backing away. "No, don't  
go!" Gabumon shouted, darting around Unown.  
  
"Leave her alone!" Takato yelled, charging through the bushes with  
Guilmon. Growling, Guilmon headbutted Gabumon, sending the digimon flying.  
"Jeri! Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kazu groused. "Don't worry about me or anything..."  
  
"Takato!" Jeri didn't quite wail, "That digimon wants to take Calumon  
away."  
  
"He can't yet, we need him here!"  
  
Gabumon staggered to his feet. "THAT'S a rookie digimon?" he said to  
himself. "I don't recgonize him. Virus type, might be a fire user..." More  
loudly: "Look, I don't want to fight, but I have to bring... Calumon,  
right?...I have to bring him back with me to the digital world!"  
  
"NO!" Calumon shouted. "I don't want to go back!"  
  
At that moment, Unown flew over, glowing with energy. With a shriek,  
the Unown fired another bolt at Gabumon. He dodged, and returned fire.  
Calumon chose that moment to jump out of Jeri's arms, fly in front of  
Unown, and  
throw up a shield just as Unown released a counter attack. For the second  
time that day, the park went white for a second.  
  
==  
  
"Sir, second flutuation detected!" Talli yelled.  
  
"What kind? Another bioemergence?"  
  
Talli checked her scans. "No. It's similar to the energy we tracked  
several weekas ago, but there are three sources this time. And..." Talli  
trailed off, stunned.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Its wavelength is similar to our Yuugoth system."  
  
Yamaki nearly choked. "There's another Yuugoth in operation?" Yamaki  
whirled around, hitting the intercom. "Reilly, has the Yuugoth been  
activated?"  
  
"Negative sir, power is still building. We're currently reading some  
sort of power flux in the target area, and we can't lock on to it with the  
satellite."  
  
"What's going ON over there?"  
  
==  
  
Janyu and Nami had managed to pull Hitomi and Eevee away from the  
battle, while Renamon and Terriermon faced off against the four remaining  
Flybeemon.  
  
"Can't we talk this out?" Henry asked the attacking digimon. "There's  
no reason to fight!"  
  
"Data is the only reason. We absorb data, we get stronger. You humans  
wouldn't understand that."  
  
"Gee, doesn't THAT sound familiar." Terriermon commented, directing a  
look at Rika. "Well forget it, the buffet's closed. So just move out before  
I decide to get rude!"  
  
"I see diplomacy's not your strong point." Renamon commented; she  
noticed that Terriermon's comment had stung Rika. She hated to admit it,  
but she had heard Rika say similar things in the past. "Shall we-" Renamon  
would have continued, but suddenly keeled over, writhing in pain. Beside  
her, Terriermon did likewise, as did the Flybeemon.  
  
"Renamon!" Rika yelled, running over. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Terriermon!" Henry ran over to his partner.  
  
"Rika.." Renamon gasped. "All the data I absorbed...It's tearing me  
apart!"  
  
"Absorbed?" Janyu asked, stunned.  
  
"Henry said it's how Digimon got stronger." Nami replied, holding  
Hitomi.  
  
"What have I done?" Janyu asked. "Henry, get out of there!"  
  
"Look!" Nami yelled. Above them, the Flybeemon were hovering in the  
air. Then they glowed white!  
  
"Are they evolving?"  
  
"I...don't think so." Terriermon stammered. As they watched, the  
attacking digimon seemed to...warp, as if they were being crumpled up.  
Then, steel wings replaced their insect wings, missiles gleaming at the  
ends of the wings. Legs and feet now shone silver, sharp talons where the  
feet were. The heads became more angular and extended.  
  
"It's the data they absorbed from the Pteramon." Henry realized.  
"Whatever's doing this to the digimon must be causing all the data they  
took to take over their bodies!" He looked at Rika. "Rika, you have to get  
Renamon out of here! She's got more data in her than anyone else;  
whatever's doing this could tear her apart!"  
  
"No." Renamon gasped. "I..I can fight this." Standing, she staggered  
towards the mutated Flybeemon. "Rika...get out of here." Rika shook her  
head. "I'm...serious!" Renamon tried to shout. "Winning this fight won't  
matter if you're not there to...". Renamon collapsed.  
  
"Renamon!"  
  
Eevee slowly got up. "What hit me?" he groaned. Then he saw Renamon and  
Terriermon. "Hey, what's going on?"  
  
"Something's attacking the data they absorbed, it's tearing them  
apart!" Nami replied. "Wait, what about Guilmon?"  
  
"He should be OK, I hope." Henry replied. "He hasn't absorbed  
anything."  
  
==  
  
Gabumon keeled over, yelling as he did.  
  
Takato looked at Unown and Calumon. "Stop it, you're hurting him!" he  
yelled.  
  
"I can't! Something's wrong!" Calumon yelled back.  
  
"Takatomon, I feel funny!" Guilmon was staggering around. "It feels  
like something's inside me, looking for something!"  
  
"I knew all that bread couldn't be good for him!" Kenta yelled.  
  
"I think that Numemon I absorbed is repeating on me..." Gabumon said,  
staggering away.  
  
Unown's a pokemon, Takato remembered. "We need Hitomi! Come on!  
Guilmon, head back to your hideout, I'll meet you there later!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts! Whatever's doing this is affecting any digimon nearby! You'd  
better get away from here!" Takto headed back through the bushes, Jeri,  
Kazu, and Kenta following him.  
  
"Is it safe to leave Calumon there?" Jeri asked Takato.  
  
  
"Right now, they're more of a threat to the other digimon. I...GUILMON?  
I told you to get out of here!"  
  
"I know, but I can't find my way back. I think I'm a bit lost."  
  
Kazu smacked his forehead. "Takato, that digimon is so much like you."  
  
"Well I...HEY!"  
  
==  
  
The mutated digimon launched more missiles at Renamon and Terriermon.  
Eevee, still angered over Hitomi's being knocked out, launched his own  
attacks, though he did little against the armoured digimon. Noctowl stayed  
with the humans, using his own powers when one of the attackers got too  
close.  
  
"This would be a good time to digivolve!" Rika said to Eevee as he  
hopped back from one rather nasty attack.  
  
"Love too," Eevee replied, "but I need Hitomi. It's how this whole  
'partner' thing works."  
  
"?"  
  
Eevee stopped, staring at Rika. "You didn't know? Partner digimon can  
only digivolve when their partner wants them too."  
  
"That's crazy! Digimon can digivolve on their own, I've seen it!"  
  
"Unlinked digimon, yeah, but-" Eevee threw up a barrier, blocking a  
second missile aimed at Rika. "Later, got work to do." Eevee jumped on the  
nearest Flypteramon (as Terriermon had called them), trying to draw it away  
from Rika. "Henry! We need Gargomon!"  
  
"What? What if-?"  
  
"Henry! Trust me!" Terriermon yelled. "My attacks aren't working on  
these guys!"  
  
Trust him, Henry thought. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Terriermon, digivolve to...Gargomon!" Gargomon quickly opened fire,  
driving the FlyPteramon back. "Yeah, that's it," Gargomon yelled, "you want  
some more?"  
  
"He's not in pain anymore!" Janyu yelled. "Digivolving must have  
removed the corrupted data in him!" He looked at Rika. "You have to  
digivolve Renamon or she might be torn apart!"  
  
Rika pulled a card out. It worked for Henry, she figured. "Digi-modify!  
Digivolution activate!"  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Rika looked at the card and her digivice. "Digivolution activate!  
ACTIVATE!" she yelled, slashing the card several times over. "Why isn't it  
working?" Rika heard Renamon gasp. Looking up, she saw her partner being  
attacked by three of the mutated digimon; the fourth was harassing  
Gargomon, preventing the digimon from attacking the other three. "Renamon!"  
  
Normally, Renamon would have been able to fight off the three attackers  
(yes, she's that good -ed). However, crippled by the pain Unown and Calumon  
were unintentionally causing, she was barely able to fight off one of them,  
much less three. Sensing her weakness, the Flypteramon closed in, falling  
over each other to absorb her data. She dodged two, but the third one  
managed to latch one of its talons into her shoulder.  
  
Dropping the card, Rika ran over, hitting one of the attackers with her  
digivice. "Let her go!" she yelled. Angrily, the digimon she hit turned to  
face her.  
  
"Pyro-Sphere!" Guilmon's flame attack slammed into the Flypteramon.  
Takato, Guilmon, Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri ran into the area. "We need Hitomi!"  
Takato yelled. "Unown and Calumon are going nuts!"  
  
"We're a little busy right now!" Gargomon yelled back, still firing at  
the mutated digimon harassing him.  
  
"One of those things knocked her unconcious!" Nami added, holding  
Hitomi. "Help Rika and Renamon!"  
  
"Great!" Kazu yelled, heading for cover, dragging Kenta and Jeri with  
him.  
  
"Guilmon, I need to digivolve you. Can you handle it?" Guilmon nodded.  
"Here goes. Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Guilmon, digivolve to...GROWLMON!" The two Flypteramon suddenly found  
themselves facing a very large firebreathing dinosaur. "Why don't you pick  
on someone MY size?" Growlmon rumbled. While Growlmon was in control of  
himself this time, his digivolution made things worse, not better. Unable  
to use his flame attacks without risking the other humans in the area, he  
was reduced to swatting at the two attacking digimon.  
  
The remaining Flypteramon focussed on Rika, who had started throwing  
rocks at the digimon to get it away from Renamon. "Rika...get out of  
here..." Renamon gasped, trying to stand.  
  
Rika looked back at Renamon, having managed to place herself between  
the Flypteramon and Renamon. "No." she replied, voice not quite cracking.  
"I...I have to save you."  
  
"RIKA!" Nami and Janyu yelled. Turning, Rika saw the Flypteramon fly at  
her, silvery talons extended for the kill.  
  
"RIKA!" Renamon yelled, Rika's digivice glowing as it did. "Renamon,  
digivolve to...Kyuubimon!" Instantly, the pain Renamon felt vanished as the  
digivolution took hold, clearing the damaged data in her system. "Dragon  
Wheel!" she screamed, wreathing herself in blue flames and tackling the  
Flypteramon only centimeters away from Rika's face. Rika didn't feel any  
heat from Kyuubimon's flames.  
  
"Alright!" Gargomon yelled, seeing this out of the corner of his eye.  
"DUM DUM UPPER!" Gun arm glowing with energy, Gargomon leaped up and  
smacked the Flypteramon he was attacking, driving it into the ground. He  
heard Growlmon  
dispatch the other two with his Dragon Slashers, the stricken digimon  
disintegrating as they fell. A second later, the Digimon Gargomon attacked  
also vanished, the corrupted data finally taking its toll.  
  
==  
  
It turned out they didn't need Hitomi after all; Calumon had simply run  
out of energy, and had collapsed, unconcious. As he did, both the rift and  
the energy wave that was attacking digimon in the area faded. Unown, also  
groggy, managed to get under Calumon and lift him up, carrying the small  
digimon away. The tamers got there just in time to see the two leaving.  
Hitomi watched the two leave, silently.  
  
"Hey," Takato said, "we know he's here now. We should be able to find  
him again, no problem, right?" He looked at Henry.  
  
"I hope not. I'd hate to think we'd have to go through that again every  
time we run into them."  
  
"What's to worry about?" Gargomon asked. "Now that we have this whole  
digivolution thing figured out, it should be a cakewalk, right?" Gargomon  
looked at Kyuubimon and Rika. "What's up? You don't look to happy for  
someone who finally figured out how to digivolve."  
  
"I..." Rika looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't.  
  
"We should get home." Kyuubimon said quietly, leading Rika away. The  
two left.  
  
"That's probably good advice." Nami said, arm around Hitomi.  
  
"Takatomon?" Takato looked up at Growlmon. "I'm glad I can digivolve  
without going all crazy and stuff, but can I go back to being Guilmon now?"  
  
"I...ah nuts." Takato replied, palming his face.  
  
==  
  
The Flybeemon that was damaged early in the fight finally came to. By  
some chance, it had been spared the energy wave that mutated its bretheren.  
It was badly wounded, but it was sure it could recover.  
  
"Well, well, well," Impmon said, walking up. "What have we here?"  
Flybeemon looked at Impmon, metal scraping on metal as it did so. "Don't  
know? How about we just call you dessert and leave it at that?" The wounded  
digimon's eyes widened, realizing what was coming next. "INFERNAL SUMMONS!"  
Flybeemon was engulfed in flame, the heat finishing the job that Eevee's  
berserk attack had started.  
  
"Now that's more like it." Impmon said, absorbing the released data.  
"Now, who's next?"  
  
Next Episode:  
While dealing with the aftermath of the battle, Renamon tells Rika a  
story of what life was like back when Renamon was living in the digital  
world. Janyu starts his new job, meets an old friend, and does not  
discover what Yamaki has in mind for the digimon in the city. Next time on  
Digimon:Digicross:  
'Wolf's Claw, Fox's Fire' 


	10. Digicross Tamers 10 Wolf's Claw, Fox' F...

Digicross Tamers episode 10  
'Wolf's Claw, Fox's Fire'  
  
==Friday, after school  
  
"You're sure it's OK?" Hitomi asked Ms. Asaji.  
  
"Of course." the teacher replied. "I'm sure you and Jeri will have a great time. Just make sure you get to bed on time, alright?" Hitomi nodded. "And don't forget about your homework."  
  
"Yes, teacher." Hitomi sighed, smiling as she did.  
  
Outside, Hitomi met up with Jeri. "She said it's alright if I come over. What about your parents?"  
  
"Oh, they thought it would be great if you came over!"  
  
(Flashback)  
  
Jeri's father leaned back. "I don't like it. You barely know this girl, Jeri."  
  
"But dad, she's so nice. You'll like her, I know it!"  
  
Ikuko Kato, her stepmother, smiled. "Well, I think it's a wonderful idea. Jeri, if you think she's nice, then that's enough. Tell her she can come over any time she wants to."  
  
"Ikuko..."  
  
Ikuko narrowed her eyes, staring at her husband. "Satoshi, I think it would be a very good idea, don't you?" Jeri stepped back, not expecting the ice in her stepmother's voice.  
  
"I...alright. But you'll be responsible for her." Satoshi conceded, looking at Jeri.  
  
"I will dad, promise! You'll like her, I know you will!" Jeri left the room.  
  
"Was that necessary?" Satoshi asked his wife.  
  
"Yes. I won't have you punishing her for a perfectly natural reaction for the rest of her life. She's finally starting to open up to other people, isn't that what you want?"  
  
"I just don't want her getting hurt. Or you."  
  
"Then do something remarkable and trust her. For me?"  
  
Satoshi sighed. "Alright."  
  
(end flashback)  
  
"Do you have everything?"  
  
Hitomi nodded. "Yep. Change of clothes, schoolwork, everything."  
  
"Schoolwork? But it's Saturday tomorrow!"  
  
"I know. Hazards of living with a teacher." Jeri and Hitomi giggled at that. "Ms. Asaji said she'd bring Eevee and Noctowl to Guilmon's hiding place tomorrow afternoon."  
  
Nami Asaji watched the two girls leave. Beside her, Eevee watched Hitomi go away. "I hope she'll be alright."  
  
"She's going to a sleepover, not a crusade." Nami replied. 'She needs a break from Digimon for a while. She's been a bit rattled ever since that Unown opened that rift. And she still has that pokegear of hers. If anything happens, she can call us."  
  
"I guess."   
  
==Nonaka household.  
  
Rika leaned back. She digivolved, Rika thought to herself. And it was up to me, not her. "Renamon?"  
  
Renamon appeared. "You called, Rika?"  
  
"How...how did you digivolve? I thought all the data you absorbed was destroying you."  
  
"It was. It was you that made me digivolve."  
  
"Me?" Renamon nodded. "But...how?"  
  
"I felt how much you cared for me, and that digivolving was the only way I could save you. It cost me a bit, but it was worth it."  
  
"Cost...?"  
  
"Yes. I lost a lot of the data I have absorbed since I became your partner. And yet, in a way, I feel stronger."  
  
Rika slumped down. "All this time...I've been holding you back, haven't I?"  
  
"No. The fault was as much mine as it was yours. In the digital world, loading data is the only way a Digimon could digivolve. I never knew it could be different until that night."  
  
"What was it like...in the digital world?"  
  
Renamon looked at Rika. "You never asked me about that before."  
  
"I...never thought about it before..."  
  
"Of course." Renamon motined for Rika to follow her, and the two stepped out into the yard. It was a clear night, the moonlight reflecting off the pond in the middle of the yard.  
  
"You must understand that the digital world has many layers to it." Renamon started. "Each level has different types of Digimon living in it. I lived for many years in the middle layers. It was fairly peaceful there. Several cities had been built, and many Digimon, hoping to become stronger, went to those cities. I was in a place called Seiryu City..."  
  
==Digital World, several years ago  
  
It was a full class that day. There were Digimon of all types there, Champion level mostly. All of them were practising their moves, sparring with each other.  
  
Weregarurumon looked over at one Digimon in particular. Yellow and white, moved like the wind, knocked that Musyamon over there on his kiester when she first showed up, calmly asking to be trained. Renamon, that was her name. "All right, everyone, gather around!" the ultimate Digimon yelled, clapping his hands together. All the Digimon there did as asked; Weregarurumon was regarded as one of the best teachers in the area, usually friendly, but having little time for fools and troublemakers. "I just got word that there is an opening in the ranks of the Devas, and that one of the examiners will be coming here to evaluate students from this school. So I want you all to practice extra hard, alright?" He watched as the whole class chattered at the news. Except for one..."Okay, back here tomorrow, same time. Renamon, a word?"  
  
"You wished to see me?" Renamon asked Weregarurumon when the rest of the class had left.  
  
"Yes. You're easily one of the best students I have. I'd like to pick you to be in the class the examiner will chack in a week."  
  
"Who else will be there?" Still expecting a challenge, Weregarurumon saw in her voice.  
  
"A Veedramon, two Allomon, and Turuiemon."  
  
Renamon raised an eyebrow. "Turuiemon?"  
  
"She's just behind you in fighting ability, though she's slightly better in pure strength. You object? I know you two are friends."  
  
"Not at all. Only the strongest should move on."  
  
==Present  
  
"Devas?" Rika asked.  
  
"Yes. Digimon in the digital world believe that there is a single powerful Digimon, called the Sovereign, watching over the entire digital plane. Serving him directly are the Devas, 12 powerful Digimon. To become a Deva is considered to be a high honour."  
  
"What's this sovereign like?" Rika asked, curious.  
  
"No one knows." Renamon caught Rika's look. "Would you recognize the Japanese Emperor if you met him on the street? Or the Prime Minister, for that matter?"  
  
"Good point."  
  
==Then, Digital World  
  
"Isn't this exciting?" Turuiemon asked Renamon excitedly. "Just think, one of us might get to be the next Deva." Renamon and Turuiemon had rented a room at a nearby inn.  
  
"It may be. You do know that only one of us might be selected, if any."  
  
"Oh, lighten up!" Turuiemon stuck her toungue out at Renamon. "What is it that one guy was always saying...Moumantai, that was it!"  
  
"I'm sorry?" Renamon didn't recognize the word.  
  
"It means take it easy! Maybe one of us will get chosen, and maybe not. Why worry about it?"  
  
"It is a great responsibility." Renamon replied.   
  
"I just can't wait to see what will happen." Turuiemon said, lying back on a bunk. "I'm pretty sure it'll be you that gets picked."  
  
"It is possible." Renamon admitted, smiling a bit. "But Weregarurumon has you chosen as well for the tryouts."  
  
"Never happen." Turuiemon replied.  
  
A week later, the tryouts began. The examiner, an incredibly ancient looking Digimon calling himself Jijimon, watched the trials. With him was one of the Devas themselves, Sandiramon, as he called himself. The snakelike Digimon watched. "Those two seem the most likely." He said to Jijimon.  
  
"Yeah. Shame I'm married; the tall yellow one looks cute."  
  
"I'll tell Babamon you said that."  
  
"Just try it, bub. Alright you two, BEGIN!"  
  
Renamon faced off against her opponent. It was the Musyamon she had beaten when she had first come to this city. "So, we meet again, rookie." Musyamon taunted. "I'll have you know I have been training ever since the first time we met. This time, I'll beat you and load your data. Why don't you-"  
  
"Diamond Storm!" The attack quickly knocked out Musyamon. "Jerk." Renamon scoffed, leaving the ring area.  
  
"I'm in love." Jijimon whispered.  
  
"You're a loon." Sandiramon replied, getting a bit annoyed. First it was that Lillymon two towns back, now this...  
  
Turuiemon dispatched her opponent as quickly, and Renamon finished off hers. The event ran the entire day, until there were only the two friends left.  
  
==Now, Real World  
  
"You had to fight your friend?"  
  
Renamon nodded. "Only one of us could be chosen to become the next Deva. Turuiemon was as good a fighter as I was."  
  
==Then, Digital World  
  
Renamon dodged a swipe from one of Turiermon's blades, wincing as the second one caught her on her left leg. "Not too bad," Renamon said between gasps, "you've been paying attention."  
  
Turuiemon grinned back. "It wouldn't be a fight if I didn't go all out, right? That's what we promised if it came to this, that neither of us would hold back?"  
  
Renamon nodded. The next attack by Turuiemon managed to knock the rookie Digimon almost out of the ring. As Renamon staggered to get up, her ears managed to pick out some of the whispered conversations.  
  
"What's taking so long?"  
  
"She's just a rookie; probably can't even digivolve."  
  
"I wouldn't want a weakling that can't evolve to serve the soveriegn..."  
  
That last comment caused something to snap in Renamon.   
  
"I've got you now!" Turuiemon yelled, jumping at Renamon, blade extended.  
  
Snarling, Renamon whirled, dodged the attack, kicking Turuiemon back into the air as she did. She then jumped, and struck Turuiemon with a fully charged Wisteria Punch, knocking the Champion level Digimon out of the ring, through several rows of spectators, and into the ground. The entire audience just   
looked on, stunned.  
  
After a second, the referee recovered his wits, and stepped onto the ring surface. "Winner is Renamon! By ancient tradition, she will become the next Deva!" No one raised an objection.  
  
Sandiramon moved towards Renamon, impresed by the power shown by the Rookie Digimon. "You have fought well, Renamon, and it is my honour to..." Sinduramon stopped, looking skywards. As he did, Renamon noticed the sigil on Sinduramon's chest was glowing bright. Sinduramon seemed to be communicating with something.  
  
"But..." Sandiramon spoke suddenly. His body then stiffened, as if he had touched a live wire. "I understand." Sandiramon took a breath. "The Soveriegn has spoken to me. Though it is irregular, the Sovereign has chosen Turuiemon to be the next Deva!"  
  
"But Renamon won!" Turuiemon protested, getting up. She was still shaking off the effects of Renamon's last attack.  
  
"You question the word of the Digimon Sovereign?" Sandiramon almost shouted.  
  
Turuiemon seemed ready to, but Renamon caught Turiermon's eye, shaking her head. "No. Forgive my outburst."  
  
"Then by the will of the Sovereign, let this Digimon, Turuiemon, be accepted into the ranks of the deva. By the power of the South, I, Sandiramon, bestow upon you the power of the Devas!" A bolt of energy came out of Sinduramon's mouth, enveloping Turiermon.  
  
"Turuiemon, digivolve to...Antylamon!"  
  
==  
  
"I'm really sorry about this. It should have been you." Antylamon said sadly to Renamon.  
  
"The decision was made. I knew that only one of us would be able to make it in. I am glad it was a friend of mine."  
  
Antylamon nodded, the walked off headed for the edge of the town.  
  
Weregarurumon walked up besiode Renamon. "Odd day." Renamon nodded. After a second, Weregarurumon looked at Renamon. "Why did you come here?"  
  
"I'm sorry, master?"  
  
"Don't 'master' me," Weregarurumon replied, grinning, "you're one of my best students. Why did you come here?" Renamon didn't say anything. "So you could digivolve?"  
  
"Yes." Renamon admitted. "I knew your school was one of the ones the Devas had their eye on."  
  
"You haven't been able to digivolve at all have you? Is that why you have fought for so long?"  
  
Renamon still didn't look up. "Digimon get stronger by absorbing data. When they absorb enough, they digivolve. Isn't that how it's always worked?" Her voice was calm, controlled as she spoke.  
  
"Of all my class, you were the only one who hasn't evolved beyond Rookie. And that's made you fight all the harder. That's why you got so angry during the fight; I heard some of those whispers too." Renamon flushed, ashamed at her loss of control during the battle.  
  
"I should go, then. I'm not strong enough yet."  
  
"I won't stop you, if that's what you wish. Before you go, a few things. One, strength in battle is not the only thing in life. Those months you were sparring with Turuiemon were some of the best times in my life; you were both happy. Never forget that. Two, you may not have made it here, but I think your   
destiny lies elsewhere. There's something else you need, a part of you that's missing. And third, I think you may find that part..." Weregarurumon trailed off, pointing at the sphere in the sky.  
  
"The Real World?"  
  
"Yes. I have heard some digimon speak of seeking their fortunes there. It may be that the Real World has the answer you seek."  
  
Renamon nodded. Two days later, she left Seiryu city, not intending to ever come back.  
  
==Real World, now  
  
"Shortly after that, I managed to battle my way to the top level, where I found transport to the Real world, and then, to you."  
  
Rika leaned back, still trying to take in the story. "I never knew..."  
  
"That we were so much alike?" Renamon asked. Rika blinked, then nodded, blushing a bit. "Neither of us will settle for being second, or for not being the best at anything we truly love doing. I think that's why we became partners."  
  
"So what now?"  
  
Renamon looked at the moon again. "We fight together. And find Eevee and Hitomi sometime." Rika looked at Renamon oddly. "No one calls me a feather duster and gets away with it." She added, humour in her voice.  
  
==Kato household, night time  
  
"I hope I'm not causing any trouble."  
  
"Oh, nonsense!" Jeri replied. "Dad's really nice when you get to know him. He just acts all tough and mean."  
  
"Your mom is nice."  
  
Jeri's expression fell a bit. "She's just my stepmom. My real mom..."  
  
"I...I'm sorry!"  
  
Instantly, Jeri's expression changed. "Hey, it's not your fault or anything! Come on, we're supposed to be having fun, right?" Jeri thought for a second. "Hey, what's it like being a tamer?"  
  
"A tamer?" Hitomi asked. She remembered Takato thinking Jeri might be a good tamer, and her own words against it. And for it, later on. "Well, it's a lot of work. I have to take care of Eevee and Noctowl, and try not to let them get too badly hurt in a battle."  
  
"But it'd be so neat, I just know it." Jeri answered. "Having someone to talk to, going on all sorts of adventures."  
  
"Yeah. But it can be pretty scary."  
  
Jeri flopped down on her bed. "I know, but I still can't help thinking about it. All those Digimon are appearing here, and one of them might be my partner. Or maybe I could create one, like Takato did."  
  
Hitomi smiled, remembering the times she made up Digimon partners, before Eevee had arrived. "What kind of Digimon would you have for a partner?"  
  
Jeri blushed a bit. "Oh, I don't know. Someone really nice and smart, like Patamon."  
  
"Hmm. When I was young, I always wanted a Veemon."  
  
"Well, you got close, I guess." Jeri replied, chuckling. After a second, Hitomi got the joke, and the two laughed.  
  
==  
  
In the kitchen, Ikuko smiled as she heard the laughter from upstairs. She held her son, Yamato, in her arms as she did. "You see, Satoshi? They're having a great time."  
  
"I guess. There's just something...odd about that Motomiya girl. You saw the way she reacted when she met Yamato?"  
  
"So? She knew someone named Yamato where she grew up. Stop being so suspicious."  
  
==  
  
Outside the Kato home, Gabumon looked intently at the open window, where he heard Jeri and Hitomi's voices coming from. During the last fight, he had heard Hitomi's name mentioned when that Unown creature had shown up, and several times later, after the fight.  
  
He had determined that Hitomi might be useful in getting Calumon away from that Unown thing that he was travelling with. "Ryo never told me there'd be days like this." Gabumon muttered, looking glumly at the box of fried chicken he had swiped from that restaurant. Pity his Blue Blaster had overcooked it. A lot, he thought to himself, holding up the lump of charcoal that was formerly a chicken wing...  
  
==  
  
"Hey, Hitomi? Do you think I could become a digidestined?"  
  
Hitomi blinked. "I guess it's possible. I don't know how it works here..."  
  
"Well," Jeri went on, smiling, "how about where you're from?"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"It's OK, I overheard Henry and Takato talking."  
  
Ah nuts, Hitomi thought. "Really? Wh...what did you hear?"  
  
"That you're from the digital world that's on TV. Isn't that right?"  
  
==Hypnos, main offices  
  
Yamaki sat down at his desk. The rest of the workers had left for home; there were only a few technicians on duty, keeping an eye on the slowly developing Yuugoth system, and its more powerful sibling, the Juggernaut system. Of course, the Juggernaut only existed as a theory right now, pending   
approval from the government to develop Yamaki's latest weapon against the digital menace.  
  
His lighter was on the desk. In his hand was the digivice that had appeared when Impmon and Monodramon had shown up. Along with...  
  
"Digimon..." he growled, grip on the digivice tightening. A part of him marvelled how the digivice had changed over time, as if reflecting his mood. It was now almost all black, with a dull grey ring around the screen. The two buttons underneath were bone white. "Hmm...I never told anyone that this is   
what I based the Yuugoth off of. If only I knew how it worked." He had tried various ways of opening the digivice up, from subtle (full lab, laser cutter, controlled acidic reaction), to blunt (sledgehammer). Nothing. Every test done on the digivice itself had come up negative. But the energy it released, that could be scanned.  
  
"Sir?" One of the trechnicians walked into Yamaki's office. "Status on the digital tracking system. We've upgraded the scanning power by 22.5%. We should be able to detect any already emerged Digimon within a several mile radius."  
  
Yamaki nodded. "And the Yuugoth system?"  
  
"Normal sir. No word on that anomalous signature that matched it. We have also received approval to start developing the Juggernaut system."  
  
"Excellent." Yamaki looked at the technician. "You've been pretty active here. What was your name?" Westerner, possibly American, from the look, Yamaki judged.  
  
"Ramone, sir. Mark Ramone."  
  
"Hmm. Remind me to promote you next week."  
  
"A pleasure, sir."  
  
==Kato home  
  
"You're really related to Davis?"  
  
"Well, yeah..." Hitomi replied. After confessing the truth about her home, Jeri had had a million questions. "And yes, he was a lot like you saw on the TV series. If mom isn't exaggerating." She sighed, looking out the window.  
  
"You must miss them a lot." Hitomi nodded. Jeri tried to change the subject. "So, what do you do in your spare time?"  
  
"Oh, I just draw a bit."  
  
"Can I see? Takato said you drew a picture of Guilmon for him."   
  
"Sure, but it's not very good." Hitomi handed Jeri an artbook out of the bag she had brought with her.  
  
"This is incredible!" Jeri exclaimed. It was a picture of Guilmon sleeping. "It looks just like him."  
  
"Well, the head's a bit big, and I don't think I got the tail right."  
  
"I think you got him just right. How long have you done this for?"  
  
"A few years. Back on my world, some people travel the world, looking for pokemon to sketch. One of them, a man named Tracy, taught me how to draw pokemon, and then Digimon. I wanted to be a monster watcher when I got older." Hitomi blushed a bit. "I'm sorry. I know it must sound silly."  
  
"Didn't your uncle tell you your dreams are important?"  
  
"Davis? No, he never said that."  
  
"What about that fight against Malomyotismon?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Big guy, came out of Mr. Oikawa? Tried to turn a bunck of kids into dark digidestined so he could go to the digital world?"  
  
"Umm...it didn't quite happen that way..."  
  
==(half an hour later)  
  
"She married WHO?"  
  
Hitomi sighed. "Yes, Kari married Izzy." Was it THAT hard a concept to grasp, she wondered to herself.  
  
==Saturday  
  
"So, how was it?" Nami asked, as Jeri and Hitomi stepped into view. Behind her, Guilmon was playing with Eevee and Noctowl.  
  
"It was great!" Jeri answered. "We stayed up late and talked and watched movies."  
  
"And I did my math homework." Hitomi added. "Ms. Asaji? Jeri...knows..."  
  
"Knows what...oh dear"  
  
"I overheard Takato and Henry talking." Jeri explained  
  
"Remind me to have a nice long talk with those two..."  
  
==Monday  
  
Janyu Wong stepped into the lab. The letter he had gotten was pretty specific; head to this address, up several dozen floors, and enter the computer lab where 'a surprise' was waiting. "Well, if this is the surprise, I'm not impressed."  
  
"You never were easy to impress." A deep voice said behind him.  
  
Janyu whirled around. "Babel?" he gasped, recognizing the voice. "You...you're bald."  
  
'Babel' grinned. "Felt like a change. Cuts down on the barber bills. Plus the shampoo costs."  
  
"I hope I'm not interrupting." Another voice said, entering the lab.  
  
Janyu recognized the second voice too, and the person it belonged to. "Dolphin!"  
  
"It's a Monster Makers reunion!" Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy replied. "Whoever's running this place is getting us back together. No idea for what, though. How've you been, Tao?"  
  
"Please, Tao was left behind a long time ago." Janyu replied.  
  
"Always the stick in the mud." Babel cracked.  
  
"Well, someone had to keep you lot in line. How's Alice?"  
  
Dolphin grinned. "She's fine, and wishes you would write, you evil, evil person you. She wants to hear all about her uncle Tao, who hacked the university finance records and leaked the dean's true income to the press."  
  
"You didn't tell her." Janyu asked, wishing he had never done that. Or gotten drunk and bragged about it later.  
  
"She thinks you're a true hacker elite. What a shame it will be to tell her the legend has joined the system and become another cog."  
  
"If you'll forgive my interrupting this little walk down memory lane," Yamaki said, striding into the computer lab, "we have a lot of work to do. My name is Yamaki, and I have a little project for you to   
take care of."  
  
"Like what?" Babel asked.  
  
"Like the removal of Digimon from this world."  
  
Next Episode  
A field test of the Yuugoth system brings Impmon, Calumon and Unown into the Hypnos headquarters, and a confrontation with Yamaki. Janyu reveals what he knows about Hypnos to his son, while Jeri and Takato have a run in with Gabumon. Next time, on Digicross Tamers:  
'The Capture of Unown.' 


	11. Digicross Tamers 11 The Capture of Unow...

Digicross Tamers Episode 11  
The Capture of Unown  
  
==Hypnos, Yamaki's office  
  
"Did they say anything?"  
  
Reilly shook her head. "No, if any of them do know about Digimon, they're hiding it pretty well. I don't think Janyu knows about his son, but he's pretty hard to read."  
  
Yamaki nodded. "Fair enough. As long as they do the work we give them, so much the better."  
  
"Sir? Why not just tell them?"  
  
Yamaki frowned. "I don't want to create a situation where those programmers might be forced to choose between Hypnos and their families. This will have to be done slowly and surely." Idly, Yamaki toyed with the lighter in his hand. "We have to make sure the ones who made Digimon in the first place understand the full extent of the danger facing us."  
  
Talli entered the office. "Latest report from our agents. There is still no sign of this 'Shibumi' person, under any of his aliases. If he is still alive, he's not in Japan."  
  
Yamaki's frown turned into a scowl. "Blast it. All of our intelligence says he's still working on these Digimon, but there's no sign of where he's based. What about our contacts in America and Canada?"  
  
"It's a large continent." Talli replied. "For all we know, he could have been hit by a car and is in a coma somewhere. And our agents don't have nearly as much freedom to move about outside of Japan."  
  
"Very well. Tell our contacts in the FBI and the RCMP to stay in contact. They have all the information we can get on this 'Shibumi'." Yamaki looked out the window, gaze roaming over the city. As he looked, his grip on the lighter tightened, knuckles turning white.  
  
Reilly looked at Yamaki for a minute, then left, saying nothing.  
  
==Tokyo, half an hour later.  
  
The only weapon that Hypnos possessed against the perceived threat of digital invasion was the Yuugoth system. It was very effective against Digimon, but, at this point in time, the program could not affect a Digimon once it had emerged into the Real World. The proposed 'Juggernaut' system would correct this limitation, but it was yet to be finished.   
  
It was then left to the small staff of field agents to comb the city of Tokyo, always watching for signs that Digimon were appearing, and making whatever effort they could to limit the impact those Digimon had. Usually, there was little they could do, aside from steering civilians away from observed 'digital fields' and subtly diverting news media away from the site, usually with a combination of covert sabotage and crank calls.  
  
All this was revealed to rookie agent Miyakawa Ritsu, only a few hours after he had signed the contract with the Hypnos agency, binding him to a five year term with the agency, as well as complete secrecy. That contract, and the knowledge that Mr. Yamaki scared the living daylights out of him, kept him on this job, in spite of long hours, miles of walking, vague reports of ghosts and goblins, and no love life to speak of.  
  
Take this latest 'assignment'. Ritsu, with all his training in computers and his business degree, was asked to look into reports of a flying white rat stealing apples from shopkeepers in the area. He was convinced that it was the ramblings of some drunken college students. Nothing was here. Nothing… "What was that?" Curious, Ritsu looked around a corner.  
  
There was a small white…creature, laughing and eating an apple with a small bizarrely shaped…squiggle. Quickly, Ritsu grabbed his communicator. "Get a trap here, I've found something!"  
  
==Hypnos lab  
  
"Sir," one of the technicians reported, "the Juggernaut system is ready to be tested."  
  
"What is this thing?" Babel asked, staring down into what looked like a pool of greenish water.  
  
"This thing," Reilly replied, "is how we plan to stop the threat of Digimon. Based on what we've discovered so far, we've developed a special system that can attack Digimon without harming any purely biological organism."  
  
"That means us." Dolphin whispered to Janyu, giving him an elbow. Janyu sighed, shaking his head.  
  
"If I may continue?" Reilly asked icily. "As I was saying, this system is specially designed to attack Digimon. As you all know, Digimon are able to absorb data and use it to increase their own power. What this system does is use that innate ability to absorb data to introduce a fatal series of data codes into the Digimon. It's like a trojan horse computer virus; the Digimon is tricked into accepting what it thinks is digital data, then is destroyed as the data carries out its true purpose."  
  
"Digi-logical warfare." Dolphin muttered, remembering several anti-war protests he had been in. "And this 'Digital World' you spoke of?"  
  
Yamaki answered. "Once the system is perfected here, we will modify it and send a Juggernaut wave through the digital world. There will be no more Digimon. There will just be…ink on a card."  
  
"That's gonna cause a lot of havoc." Babel noted. "If what you say is true, doing something like that will pretty much crash the entire Internet. And what's to stop Digimon that survive from rebuilding?"  
  
"That's where you come in." Yamaki answered. "You created Digimon in the first place, and you are our best hope for wiping them out. You know how these things work better than anyone on our staff." Yamaki turned away, walking back to his office.  
  
"Charming person." Dolphin said sarcastically.  
  
Reilly's eyes narrowed. "He has his reasons. I suggest you get to work." She also left.  
  
"I don't like this." Janyu said. "That Yamaki guy's…I can't describe it, but I could almost feel the rage coming from him."  
  
Babel nodded. "It's personal, I'd guess. Well, we'd better get to work. Shame Curly, Dolly, and Shibumi aren't here."  
  
One of the technicians walked up. "Are you the Monster Makers?" The three nodded. "Chief Technician Ramone. I'll be working with you on the Juggernaut project. Don't let Yamaki or Reilly get to you, they've been under a lot of strain."  
  
"Are they that serious?" Janyu asked. "Do they really want to destroy all Digimon?"  
  
"It's the most logical way to remove the threat. What if some kid found a Digimon that winds up levelling Tokyo? Or they get a mind to invade."  
  
"But it was just a stupid college project." Dolphin said. "How could something we did all those years ago become this?"  
  
Ramone shrugged. "They survived and evolved beyond what they were supposed to. If you need me, just call."  
  
==And, just outside the building…  
  
"So, they nabbed the squiggle and the creampuff." Impmon had trailed the humans that had captured Calumon and Unown back to the Hyponos building. He tried to shake off the very bad feeling he had as he closed in on the building. "I gotta be nuts! This is where all those other Digimon got carted in. Maybe they got some huge Digimon in there that they're feeding. Be a sweet setup, usin' those pathetic humans to do all the legwork."  
  
Impmon stared at the entrance for a few more minutes. "Ahh, no one's loadin' their data except me. I'll bada-boom anyone who says otherwise." Quietly, Impmon sneaked into the building.  
  
==Just after school  
  
Hearing his name called, Takato looked up, and saw Jeri coming his way. She had been hanging around a lot since she had learned that Takato had an actual digimon.  
  
Not that Takato minded that much.  
  
"I've been looking all over for you." Jeri said, panting slightly. "I thought you might be at the park by now."  
  
"Heh, well, it's kind of hard to cut class to be with your digimon when the teacher knows about it. Where's Hitomi?"  
  
"She's going over history with Ms. Asaji. She really blew that last exam."  
  
Takato sighed. "Yeah. I guess with her being from that alternate universe. It's like she has to re-learn everything."  
  
Jeri nodded. "It must be neat, though. Knowing all the digidestined we see on TV." Takato nodded. He'd felt the same way too, but refrained from asking too many questions. "Takato?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you think I'll ever be a tamer?"  
  
Takato tried to hide a shudder. "I don't know. I guess, if I can become one." Takato immediately had a flashback...  
  
==  
  
Kenta's eyes went wide as he walked up to Guilmon. "That's...really a digimon? And you're his tamer?"  
  
"Yeah!" Guilmon said happily. "Takatomon and I are really close friends! And he brings me bread too!"  
  
"That's it then, if Takato can be a tamer, then so can I!" Kenta announced.  
  
Kazu failed to restrain a snort. "You? A tamer? Yeah, and Kari and Izzy got married at the end of 02. It'll never...What?" he demanded, as Takato fell over laughing.  
  
--  
  
"You don't think I'm good enough?" Jeri asked seriously.  
  
"Uh...NO! You could be a tamer, sure." Where's Henry, Takato wondered. "But it's just a lot of work, that's all."  
  
"I could do it, I know I could!"  
  
Ooookay, Takato said silently. "Say, what digimon would you like to have?"  
  
"Me? Oh, I don't know. Patamon, if I had a choice."  
  
"Really? Not Biyomon?"  
  
"What's wrong with Patamon?"  
  
"Nothing! It's just that, well, you kind of remind me of Sora a bit...You're nice and calm and level headed....." blushing furiously, Takato trailed off.  
  
"Smooth as ever, I see." Terriermon's voice called. Takato and Jeri saw Henry, Terriermon hanging onto his back, approaching. "Should we come back later?"  
  
"Terriermon." Henry scolded. He did have to fight a chuckle as he saw Takato stammer, face reddening even more. Jeri didn't even bother. "Off to see Guilmon?" He felt Terriermon hop off, but couldn't see what the digimon was doing.  
  
"Yeah, just the daily bread run." Takato managed.  
  
"Hope you brought seconds" Terriermon whispered to Takato.  
  
"With Guilmon, you'd have to settle for fourths." He was about to continue when Terriermon charged at a tree, slamming his head into the trunk. There was a shout, and a loud thud as a large ball of white fur fell to the ground.  
  
"Gabumon." Henry breathed. "What's he doing here?"  
  
"He must be after Calumon again." Takato said. "I'll get Guilmon. Jeri, come on!"  
  
"No, wait!" Gabumon waved his arms, signalling he wanted to talk only. "Please, listen to me. There's more going on here than you know!"  
  
==Hypnos  
  
Yamaki eyed the two latest captures. "So, where did the agent find them?"  
  
Reilly checked a clipboard. "According to agent Miyakawa, he found them just sitting on the ground, eating."  
  
Yamaki looked at Ramone, who was running some tests. "Well?"  
  
"Hard to say, sir. The white one is a digimon, but his make up is different from the other digimon I've scanned." He called up a display on a second monitor, showing a cross section of one of the Gazimon they had brought in. "This part of the data stream here is what controls the evolutionary abilities of most digimon."  
  
"So?" Yamaki asked, unimpressed.  
  
"With this digimon, that one segment takes up almost all of the creature's code. It's as if this thing is only able to evolve. It may even be able to trigger digivolutions in other digi...Wild Ones."  
  
"Sort of an evolutionary catalyst?" Reilly asked.  
  
"That...might be what it is." Ramone replied, voice sounding odd.  
  
"And the other one?"  
  
"Unknown, sir. Half of our tests don't even show that anything's there. The other half just contradict themselves every time we check. All the systems are fine, I checked them myself." Inside the tube, Unown and Calumon sat there, looking at all the people around them.  
  
Talli entered the lab. "Finished my analysis sir. The unknown creature definitely has an energy pattern that matches the signals we traced several weeks back. And," Talli held a second readout out, "the field these two are generating right now matches the wave pattern we detected earlier, the one that matched the juggernaut weapon. But it's at such a low level right now, it's almost lost in the background with the other energy signals."  
  
"Are you saying that these two...things...are able to generate a juggernaut field?" Yamaki asked, incredulous. Talli nodded. "Right then. Keep this from the Monster Makers; let's see how far they progress without knowledge of this little discovery."  
  
"Shouldn't we tell them?" Reilly asked.  
  
"I'm not convinced of their loyalty yet. If this is some kind of special digimon they created, they might be tempted to try and save it. As long as they can dissect wild ones and tell us how they can be destroyed, so much the better. These two will be extra insurance if they fail us."  
  
==Park  
  
"Calumon's a WHAT?"  
  
Gabumon bowed his head. "I didn't want to say anything, but the creature you call Calumon is the very essence of digivolution, given physical form. For some reason, the Sovereign decided that it would be necessary to trap that force and put it into hiding."  
  
"Hiding?" Henry asked. "What from? What could be so dangerous that this sovereign would have to take away the ability to digivolve from all the digimon?"  
  
"I...can't say."  
  
"Can't or won't?" Terriermon asked. "This guy's nuts. I've been all over the digital world, and I've never heard of this 'sovereign' character."  
  
"The Sovereign exists!" Gabumon insisted. "I don't know why this was done, but it was. Now, the forces that made this action necessary are looking for Calumon here, in this world! If I don't find him first, it could be disaster for both our worlds!"  
  
"What will you do when you find him?" Jeri asked. Henry and Takato blinked. It hadn't occurred to them to ask that question.  
  
Or Gabumon, judging by his expression. "I..had not thought that far ahead. My only thought was to come here and find him. Protect him, if necessary."  
  
"Then we'll help!" Takato said.  
  
"Are you nuts?" Henry asked incredulously. "Takato, we're talking about something that has digimon so scared that they have to give up digivolving!"  
  
"But Henry, what if that's why all the digimon are coming here? Remember when Guilmon and I ran into Sepikmon? He was asking about a catalyst, and he said there'd be more digimon coming! SO far, we're the only ones that have been able to stop them!"  
  
"You're going to fight?" Jeri asked.  
  
"Only if I have to." Takato replied. "Guilmon?"  
  
"Okay, Takatomon, as long as we're together."  
  
"Takato, think about this!" Henry said. "You're saying you're going to fight every digimon that comes to this world?"  
  
"Well, what are we supposed to do? Stand back and let them take Calumon? And what if they take Unown too? That might be Hitomi's only way back home!"  
  
"I'm not saying that we just hand Calumon over," assuming we can trust Gabumon, Henry added silently, "but couldn't we just hide Calumon somewhere else?"  
  
"But what if they have some sort of...I don't know, some sort of super Digimon detector?"  
  
"Takato? Doesn't that sound a bit silly?" Jeri asked.  
  
==Hypnos, near the Super...ahh, skip it...  
  
Impmon wandered around, staying out of sight of the humans. "This place feels weird. Like something died." He could sense that there were digimon nearby, but his sense seemed to be disrupted by something. He saw a giant dome shaped room through an open door.  
  
"Must be down a few floors. I'll.." Impmon trailed off, seeing another human come near. This human, he recognized.  
  
Yamaki stopped too, some instinct pulling his eyes down, focussing on the small digimon. His eyes went wide, then narrowed again. "You." he spat.  
  
"Ummm...long time no see?"  
  
One of the field agents was by Yamaki. Without a word, he spun around, ripped the sidearm out of the agent's holster, and brought it to bear on Impmon. "I've been looking forward to this." he said quietly, taking aim. Impmon managed to dodge the first bullet, then started running, Yamaki close behind.  
  
==  
  
Calumon looked up as the sirens blared and the alarm lights flashed red. "Lots of pretty lights." the digimon mentioned. "But it is kinda noisy. Can we go now?" Unown made some noises. "Yeah, I am a bit bored too. I thought there'd be fun stuff to do here." Unown glowed bluish-white, and a part of the cylinder holding them melted off. The two creatures flew out and, in the confusion, went out a window.  
  
==  
  
"What on earth is all that?" Janyu looked around as the sirens blotted out the conversation. "This is a fine time for a fire drill."  
  
"Doors are locked." Dolphin said, trying to get out of the room. "Whatever's going on, they don't want us to know about it. I suppose I should be insulted."  
  
Babel let out a snort. "Maybe we're too dangerous to be allowed to know what's going on."  
  
"Please. You're starting to sound like that mad scientist from Gundam Wing. I don't know why I watch that show so much...Alice just rolls her eyes and walks out of the room."  
  
"How is your little girl?" Babel asked.  
  
"Oh, she's into the whole 'goth' thing now. Everything has to be black. I hope it's just a phase. Hey, Tao, what about your kids?"  
  
"Well, Suzie's into princesses and Henry's...into computers. And digimon."  
  
"If he only knew." Babel joked, thinking Janyu meant the card game.  
  
If you only knew, Janyu didn't say.  
  
==  
  
Impmon dodged bullets, trying to evade Yamaki, who was firing almost wildly at the digimon. Impmon ducked a round, heard Yamaki stop to reload, and darted down another corridor. "Yeesh, could this day get any worOOF!" He failed to spot the oncoming human in time, and plowed right into her.  
  
"Just great, this place is LOUSY with humans!"  
  
Reilly looked up, trying to catch her breath. In a second, she recognized the digimon. "You?"  
  
Impmon blinked, then remembered Reilly as well. "Ah, NUTS!" He jumped off, tossed a fireball at a window, and jumped out the hole.  
  
Pity it was about three stories up....  
  
"Reilly!" Yamaki yelled as he skidded to a stop. "Where is it?"  
  
"He tackled me and jumped out the window." Reilly indicated the shattered window. Yamaki ran over, looking out the hole. "It was him, wasn't it?"  
  
Yamaki said nothing, trying to control the rage in him. Ryo was gone, and that...thing had the gall to walk in here, of all places...  
  
"Sir." Reilly said, getting up and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Isao." she repeated, a bit more forcefully. "He got away, but we'll find him. We're almost ready to test the Juggernaut system, but we need you to be in control. Go home and rest. I'll take care of things here. All right?"  
  
==  
  
Impmon came to. Looking around, he saw that his fall was broken by an open dumpster, of all things. Still dazed, he could just make out two shapes hovering over him. One white, the other black.  
  
"Are you OK?" Calumon asked, looking at Impmon. Unown hovered beside Calumon, a faint nimbus of energy around it. "That looks like it'd be more fun if you landed on a pillow or in a swimming pool."  
  
Impmon sat up. "Gwahh....Hey, I don't recall asking you here! Now take a hike!"  
  
"Ohhh..." Calumon stepped back, ears retracting into his head. "We were just worried about you."  
  
"I don't need your worry. Or your pity!" A grin appeared. "Your data, on the other hand..."  
  
Unown had had enough. With a high pitched squeal, Unown let off a bolt of energy that stunned Impmon. Then, Unown beckoned for Calumon to follow him.  
  
"Not my day..." Impmon groaned, pulling a banana peel out of his ear.  
  
==That night, Wong residence  
  
"You're joking."  
  
"I'm serious dad."  
  
Janyu sighed. "You're honestly telling me that Hitomi is from another dimension, and that dimension just happens to have actual digimon in it? Along with other creatures that are like digimon, but aren't?"  
  
Henry nodded. "It's weird, but it's the only explanation that makes any sense. I'm more worried about this Hypnos place, though."  
  
"Yes. I think you'd better keep Terriermon under wraps for a while. Where is he right now?"  
  
"Daddy, look!" Suzie cried, bursting into Henry's room. "Pwincess Pwettypants is here for a visit!" Terriermon looked ready to burst into tears.  
  
"Oooookayyyy..." Henry and Janyu chorused.  
  
==Park  
  
Gabumon looked at Guilmon, not sure about the offer. "Come on in." the dinosaur digimon said. "It's nice inside and I have some bread left over."  
  
"I..."  
  
"I'm sure Takatomon won't mind."  
  
Gabumon sighed. It beat sleeping in an alleyway. And Calumon seemed to keep showing up near Guilmon, so it might pay to stay near this odd digimon and his friends. "All right. Um...why is all the dirt piled up in the middle of this place?"  
  
"I buried my bread."  
  
"Oooookayyyy..."  
  
Next episode:  
  
When Gesomon emerges inside the park, it immediately attacks Guilmon and Gabumon, mistaking the two for enemies. Unable to contact the other tamers, it is up to Hitomi, Eevee, and Jeri to stop Gesomon's attack. But what will they do when Templarmon isn't strong enough to defeat Gesomon? And what is Hypnos' interest in Hitomi? Next time, on Digicross Tamers:  
'Gabumon! I choose you!' 


	12. Digicross Tamers 12 Gabumon, I choose yo...

==New Bark Town  
  
Izzy leaned back, almost numb from exhaustion. Between the  
disappearances of Hitomi, Hiroki, and his own daughter Ryoko, Izzy's  
emotional stability was almost gone. He had worked at his current  
project with almost feverish intensity. Almost frantically, he  
connected two leads to one of the monitors, and fed power into a  
small unit he was working on. The device beeped, made a few whirring  
sounds, then began to smoke. With a yell, Izzy ripped the unit off  
the computer, and hurled it at the far wall.  
  
It stopped a few centimeters from he wall, encased in a light blue  
aura. Mewtwo stepped into the room, his aura matching the one around  
the device. "Sleep." was all he said, aura flaring up as he did.  
Wordlessly, Izzy fell forward, sound asleep.  
  
A second later, Tentomon flew in, hovering over his partner.  
"Thanks, Mewtwo. I was getting worried about him."  
  
"The stress has worn on him, since this all started." the psychic  
pokemon replied. "Has he made any progress?"  
  
"With that tracking device? No. But if it works, we can use it and  
the digital gateway to link to Hitomi's pokegear. After that, we  
just track the signal and send a gateway there."  
  
Mewtwo nodded. He knew this already, but he also knew that inane  
chatter was Tentomon's way of dealing with situations like this. He  
watched as, still babbling away, Tentomon left to get Kari to carry  
her husband back into the house. Mewtwo vanished. Izzy had been  
deteriorating lately, and he needed advice on what to do.  
  
==================================================================  
  
Digicross Tamers Episode 12  
"Gabumon, I choose you!"  
  
==================================================================  
  
==Tokyo (Tamers), Morning.  
  
Nami looked over the class. "Is everyone ready to go?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, Ms. Asaji." came the standard response. Privately, she  
wondered what would happen if the class ever said 'no'. "All right  
then, everyone to the bus. Takato? Hitomi?" The two students  
walked over as the rest of the class exited. "Takato, is Guilmon...?"  
  
"He's fine." Takato replied. "I told him to stay in the park today.  
Henry said he'd go over at lunch to make sure he's all right."  
  
Hitomi nodded. "And Eevee's asleep at your place," she said to the  
teacher, "along with Noctowl."  
  
"That's a relief. I'd hate to explain a red dinosaur to the park  
attendant."  
  
==Park  
  
Guilmon nudged Gabumon, who had had one of the most restful nights  
he could remember. "Gabumon? What's an aquarium?"  
  
"Mmmrm?" Gabumon replied, not really awake. "I think it's where  
humans keep fish."  
  
"Oh, okay. Thanks." After a minute, Guilmon nudged Gabumon again.  
"Umm, what's a fish?"  
  
Sighing, Gabumon sat up. "Fish are creatures that live in water. I  
think humans cook them and eat them."  
  
(Anyone who's followed any incarnation of Digimon Tamers should be  
able to guess what happens next. -ed)  
  
"Eat them? Like bread?"  
  
"Yeah. Whatever. Can I go back to sleep?" Without waiting for a  
reply, Gabumon fell over, asleep again. This isn't so bad, he  
thought. He could keep an eye on the catalyst, and these human  
'tamers' weren't so bad. He had no idea why Zhuquiamon hated humans  
so passionately...  
  
A soft click failed to wake him up. The sound of feet padding along  
the dirt path also didn't rouse him. The rather loud clang the door  
made when the wind blew it shut -did- wake him up. "Hey, what  
was...Guilmon?" Gabumon looked around the small hut. There was no  
sign of Guilmon. "Where could he have..." he suddenly remembered  
what Guilmon had been asking about.  
  
"Ah NUTS!"  
  
==Tokyo Aquarium. No, I don't know what it's really called. Or if  
it even exists. If Tokyo can have interdimensional portals, then it  
can have an aquarium. Deal.  
  
"Okay class, stay in your groups." Nami called to the students.  
  
Takato looked around. "Hey, where are Kazu and Kenta?"  
  
"They forgot their permission slips." Jeri answered. "Well, I'm  
partners with Hitomi, so I'll see you around."  
  
"Ehh hehe right. Later Jeri." Takato watched as Jeri skipped away,  
joining Hitomi. He hoped his face wasn't too red as he walked over  
to talk to his partner.  
  
"You're in a good mood." Hitomi said to Jeri as they wandered down  
one of the halls.  
  
"I just like coming here. It's peaceful and relaxing. Are there  
aquariums where you live?"  
  
"There was a really big one in Olivine that had a whole bunch of  
water pokemon. Asuka went there a lot." Hitomi looked at the small  
signs under the windows. "Penguin tank. This must be it."  
  
Jeri checked the assignment sheet. "Yep. How many are in there?"  
  
"About 12, according to the sign." The two answered the rest of the  
questions on that part of the assignment, and moved on.  
  
"Asuka...that was T.K's daughter, right?"  
  
Hitomi nodded. "She loved swimming more than anything else. No one  
was surprised when she got the digiegg of reliability. Mantaraymon  
was a perfect match for her. I...is that Takato?" Hitomi looked at  
the corner of the assignment sheet, where Jeri had doodled a  
picture of Takato in the lower left corner.  
  
Jeri giggled. "I guess...he has been following me around for a  
while now. Haven't you ever had someone act like that around you?"  
Hitomi looked confused. "You know, they get all embarrassed and they  
can't talk straight around you? And they totally freeze up when you  
ask them a question? It's pretty hard not to notice."  
  
"No, I..." Hitomi stopped, stunned. "Wow." she whispered, sitting  
down on a bench. "I never knew..." Hiroki?  
  
"I knew it!" Jeri said, excited. "Who is it?" Hitomi blushed, not  
wanting to answer. "Is it Sam?" Hitomi looked at her feet. "No,  
it's that other boy, Hiroki! That's so sweet!"  
  
"You can't be serious! Hiroki's only nine!" Hitomi protested. Jeri started  
laughing at Hitomi's expression and stammered excuses.  
  
==  
  
Henry stepped outside of the school. It was lunchtime now, and  
Henry enjoyed the chance to get out of the classroom. Mr. Morita had  
a way of sucking the already feeble enjoyment out of mathematics.  
And the way he kept pausing when Ms. Asaji raised her voice in the  
next room. Aren't there laws against teachers dating, he wondered  
sourly.  
  
"Hey, Henry!" Kenta yelled, running over. "We just saw a digimon!"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"This way!" Kenta grabbed Henry's arm and dragged the tamer to one  
of the fences. There, with Kazu staring at him, was Gabumon, looking  
around frantically.  
  
"Gabumon? What are you doing here?" Henry asked.  
  
"Guilmon got away! I think he's heading for the aquarium!"  
  
"Why would he do that?" Kazu asked. "There's just a bunch of fish  
there!"  
  
"Just a..." Henry trailed off, realizing what Guilmon was probably  
thinking. "Oh god." he moaned. "I need to find a phone!" Henry ran  
back to the school.  
  
"There goes the only guy who'd run -back- to a school in an  
emergency." Kazu remarked.  
  
"Which way to the aquarium?" Gabumon asked.  
  
Kenta pointed down the road. "It's about half an hour by car that  
way. By the marina; there's signs all over the place when you get  
near."  
  
"Thanks!" Gabumon ran up a nearby tree, and jumped off, landing on  
the roof of the passing cross-town express bus.  
  
"I have got to get him for a partner!" Kazu said admiringly. "He is  
just the coolest!" Hearing Kenta snort, he turned on his friend.  
"What? Don't snort at me, mister 'closet Palmon fan!'"  
  
"What? Palmon rocks!"  
  
"Does not!"  
  
"Shows what you know!"  
  
==  
  
Nami walked over to Jeri and Hitomi. "Have you finished your  
assignment?" Jeri nodded, handing the sheets to the teacher. Nami  
gave them a quick check. "Looks good. I should have them marked by  
next week." Nami looked at the lower corner of one page, and sighed.  
"Jeri, next time, remember to erase the doodles you do of Takato."  
  
"S...sorry." Jeri mumbled, blushing. Hitomi's pokegear began to ring.  
  
"Hello? Henry? Yes, Takato is nearby. I...GWAAH? Uh-huh...okay,  
we'll get him." Hitomi sighed and closed her phone. "Henry said  
Guilmon's headed this way."  
  
"Ah nuts." Nami moaned, rubbing her forehead. "Why?"  
  
"Someone told him that fish are edible." Jeri and Hitomi had a  
sudden image of Guilmon sitting down to a meal of slightly charred  
shark, pulled right out of the tank.  
  
"I'll get Takato." Nami said. "Wait here."  
  
==  
  
Calumon hovered near the entrance to the aquarium. "I heard that  
there's a lot of fun here. Maybe we should have a look around!"  
Beside him, Unown trilled, curious. "There are some creatures called  
fish here. I hear they eat planks of wood or something. I wanna see  
it, don't you?"  
  
Unown looked over the place for a second, then agreed. The two flew  
in an open window, never noticing the wisp of fog following them in.  
  
A few minutes later, Guilmon, sneaking through the bushes, made it  
to the entrance. "I smell something weird. Must be all that fish  
Gabumon told me about!" There was a quiet rumble from Guilmon's  
stomach. "I should have eaten more bread before I left. Oh well."  
Guilmon entered the aquarium.  
  
A few minutes after that, Gabumon, covered in soot and grime, showed  
up. "He's got to be in here somewhere." Gabumon muttered, looking  
for the best way to get into the aquarium.  
  
==  
  
"Okay, Tewwiermon, let's play dwessup!" Suzie, having a bit of a  
fever, was staying home from school today. Once Henry and Janyu had  
left, Suzie had sneaked into Henry's room and grabbed Terriermon.  
The digimon was now being buried under a pile of clothes.  
  
Why me, Terriermon thought to himself.  
  
==Hypnos, scanning dome  
  
"Sir, bio-emergence detected. It's coming up at the Tokyo aquarium."  
  
Yamaki looked up at the screen, scowled. "Janyu, you'd better get  
up here." In a few minutes, the Monster Makers that Yamaki had  
managed to recruit were in the Scanning Dome. "What we have here is  
a graphic representation of a digimon bio-emerging."  
  
"You mean...it's actually appearing in our world?" Babel asked,  
stunned. Even after everything he had been told, he'd had a hard  
time believing it.  
  
"We have a tap into the security cameras there." Talli reported.  
"Bringing it up now."  
  
"You can access that?" Dolphin whispered.  
  
"Hypnos was originally formed as a covert observations branch of the  
government; its original mandate was to monitor world communications  
and keep an eye out for communications by criminal or terrorist  
organizations. However, since these digimon reside in a dimension  
created by our own communications technology, it was a simple matter  
to modify the system to track them instead."  
  
Janyu looked at one of the displays, marveling as it resolved into  
a live feed from the aquarium. "It looks normal...Hey, what's that?"  
  
Yamaki walked over, giving a command to Reilly. The image paused,  
and rewound itself. The image replayed, then paused. There were two  
small creatures, one white, the other black. Janyu stopped himself  
from blurting out Unown and Calumon's names when he recognized them.  
  
"Sir," Reilly reported, "there's some form of energy coming from  
those two creatures. I think it's contributing to the formation of  
the rift."  
  
"So, they're the ones that are bringing digimon here. We'll have to  
recapture them."  
  
Janyu was about to ask what Yamaki meant by 're-capture' when he saw  
a familiar face. "Takato?" he blurted out.  
  
"Who?" Yamaki demanded.  
  
"He's a friend of my son's, they play that card game a lot." Janyu  
lied. He remembered Henry mentioning that Takato's class was having  
a field trip to the aquarium. That meant Hitomi would be there too.  
  
Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy looked at Janyu surreptitiously. Whatever's  
happened to you, he thought to himself, you're still a rotten liar,  
Tao. Good thing Yamaki there's too obsessed to notice it. "If  
digimon are going to appear there, shouldn't we evacuate the place?"  
  
"The alarm signal's already been sent." Talli reported.  
  
==  
  
Takato looked up as the alarm went off. "What was that?" he asked. "A fire  
in an aquarium?"  
  
"Who knows?" Takato's partner asked. "Come on, we'd better get going." The  
boy ran off. Takato started to follow him when Ms. Asaji intercepted him.  
  
"I didn't do it! Honest!"  
  
Nami sighed, feeling a familiar headache coming on. "Guilmon might be in  
here. He's probably the one that hit the alarm."  
  
"Guilmon? Why would he be here? All that's here is a bunch of...oh great."  
Takato took out his digivice. Instantly, a small red compass appeared, the  
arrow pointing off down one of the hallways. "I'd better go get him."  
  
"We'd better go get him." Ms. Asaji corrected her student. "It'll be hard  
enough explaining this to the rest of the class." She sighed quietly. "I'm  
getting too old for this." she muttered.  
  
==  
  
Outside, the students waited for the alarm to stop. "What do you think  
happened?" Jeri asked.  
  
"Maybe it was a drill? Or someone pulled the alarm by accident?" Hitomi  
looked at one of the windows, wondering if Guilmon had tripped the alarm. She  
and Jeri had been herded out of the aquarium by one of the staff before they  
could search for Guilmon. As she looked, she was nearly knocked down by  
something small and furry as it ran past her. She nearly fell over, but Jeri  
caught her.  
  
"Was that...Gabumon?" Jeri asked.  
  
"Gabumon? Why would he be here?" Hitomi asked. Then, without any warning, a  
dense bank of fog exploded out of the building. "A digital field!" Hitomi  
gasped.  
  
==  
  
Guilmon rummaged through the freezer, looking for something to eat. He  
finally found a box marked 'Shark Tank - received xx/xx/xx'. "Smells yummy."  
Guilmon said, dragging the box out of the freezer. The door he had come  
through had locked itself shut, but there was a second door leading out to the  
pools where the larger specimens at the Aquarium lived. "I wish Takato was  
here." he whispered sadly. "He might know how to eat this. Oh well." Guilmon  
lifted up a frozen chunk of tuna, and took a bite.  
  
He quickly spat it out. "Ick! it's all hard and cold!" He got an idea. He  
took out a second piece, and cooked it with a fireball. "Much better!" Guilmon  
yelped after trying this second piece. He dumped the whole box out, and  
started barbecuing the whole pack. So caught up in this activity, he missed  
the digital field forming, coming from the pool right behind him. He did look  
behind him when something large started to come out of the water.  
  
"Do you want some fish too?" Guilmon asked Gesomon, offering a piece of tuna  
to the digimon.  
  
==  
  
"Hey, I'm getting something weird." Takato said, looking at his digivice. "It  
looks like there's another digimon in here, and it's coming towards us."  
  
"Guilmon?" Ms. Asaji asked.  
  
"I don't know, I can't get this thing to tell me...here it comes!" The two  
humans heard something that sounded like laughter coming from ahead of them.  
It got a bit louder, then seemed to level out. A minute later, Calumon and  
Unown flew by.  
  
"Isn't that Unown?" Ms. Asaji asked. "And Calumon?"  
  
"Yeah. But what are-" Takato stopped as the entire hallway was suddenly  
covered with a thick, dense fog. "A digital field! Why now?" There was a  
loud rumble, shaking the building.  
  
==Asaji home  
  
Eevee napped quietly under Hitomi's cot. He wished he could have gone with  
her, but both she and Ms. Asaji had been very clear about Eevee and Noctowl  
staying here. The phone started to ring, waking Eevee up. His first instinct  
was to answer it, but he remembered to let the machine take a message. After a  
few rings, it did so.  
  
"Eevee," Hitomi's voice came over the machine, "I need you at the aquarium! A  
digital field just appeared, and Ms. Asaji and Takato are still in the  
building!"  
  
Oh, Eevee thought. Digital field, right...."Digital field?" Eevee shouted.  
"Noctowl, wake up!"  
  
Two minutes later, Eevee was riding Noctowl towards the aquarium. Between his  
paws he held one of Hitomi's empty pokeballs; he figured they could use it to  
get the intruding digimon out of the way without too much undue attention.  
Noctowl cawed loudly. "Hey, I've been working out! You're the one that's been  
sleeping all day! Now step on it!"  
  
==Aquarium  
  
"You could have just said no!" Guilmon cried as one of Gesomon's tentacles  
slammed into the ground where the slightly charbroiled fish was. Gesomon  
roared, trying to grab Guilmon.  
  
"Guilmon!" Takato yelled, coming through one of the entrances to the tank  
area. He spotted the large digimon, and checked it with his d-arc. "Gesomon,  
champion level virus digimon. Special attacks are Devil Bash and Night Shade."  
  
"How did that get here?" Nami demanded.  
  
"I don't know!" Takato replied. "Maybe Calumon and Unown brought him here by  
mistake or something! They've been around the other times a digimon's appeared  
here!"  
  
Gesomon spotted the two humans, and made a lunge for them. Takato knocked Ms.  
Asaji out of the way, but was caught by Gesomon's tentacle. "Takatomon!"  
Guilmon yelled. His expression shifted to a snarl, as Guilmon charged Gesomon.  
"Pyro Sphere!" he yelled, launching a fireball. The attack struck Gesomon, but  
did little damage. "Let Takatomon go!" Guilmon snarled. Gesomon snarled in  
reply, dangling Takato in front of Guilmon, using the boy as a shield.  
  
A blast of blue fire caught Gesomon on the back. Nami saw Gabumon had entered  
the area, and was also challenging Gesomon. "Be careful!" Nami yelled. "He's  
got Takato!"  
  
==  
  
Hitomi felt her way down the hall, wishing this fog wasn't so blinding.  
Behind her, she heard footsteps. "Who's there?" she demanded.  
  
"It's me!" Jeri called. "I can't see!" Sighing, Hitomi made her way back,  
and took Jeri's hand.  
  
"Why are you here? It's dangerous!"  
  
"You went in!" Jeri replied.  
  
"Yeah, but Eevee and Noctowl are coming." Hitomi sighed, wondering if her  
parents ever had days like this. "Well, just stay with me, all right?"  
  
"We are partners. Besides, you still have that assignment sheet." Jeri  
giggled.  
  
Smiling, Hitomi checked her D-3. "We're close. It should be just up this  
way." Hitomi led Jeri up a flight of stairs.  
  
"I think we're nearing the large tanks they keep the sharks in. I saw it on  
the map Ms. Asaji gave us."  
  
"The outdoor one? Good, that means if there's a fight, we won't cause as much  
damage." Hitomi went back to picking her way along the stairs. "I think the  
fog's starting to thin out. We must be close." She looked at Jeri. "Just  
promise you'll stay clear, all right? I don't want anything to happen to you."  
  
Jeri nodded. the two stepped over the threshold, through the open doors. The  
fog abruptly gave away.  
  
"Gesomon!" Hitomi gasped. "How'd it get here?"  
  
"He's got Takato!" Jeri shrieked.  
  
"Eevee! Where are you!" Hitomi yelled. A raptor's cry got her attention, as  
Noctowl, Eevee on his back, dove down, landing in front of the two girls.  
  
"You called?" Eevee asked. "I brought a pokeball. We can catch that thing  
and sneak it out of here!" Hitomi nodded, picking up the pokeball and  
expanding it to its regular size. "I'd better digivolve!"  
  
Hitomi nodded. "Digiarmour energize!"  
  
"Eevee, armour digivolve to...Templarmon, loyal defender!" Templarmon looked  
over Gesomon, wondering where to strike first. "Hitomi, Gesomon's got Takato.  
I can't use any of my attacks!"  
  
"Why not?" Jeri asked.  
  
"They're all electricity based." Hitomi explained. "Any attack he used would  
be conducted to Takato. Noctowl, can you hypnotize Gesomon?" Noctowl flew  
over, but couldn't get close enough.  
  
Gesomon heard Hitomi, and tried to attack her, tentacle shooting towards her  
and Jeri. The two girls dodged, but Hitomi lost her grip on the pokeball. It  
rolled towards the pool. Jeri ran over and picked it up. "I've got it!" Jeri  
called. Gesomon tried to grab Jeri this time, but Gabumon knocked Jeri clear.  
The tentacle closed around Gabumon and lifted him up.  
  
==Hypnos  
  
"Building is not completely clear. I'm getting reports of humans still in the  
area." Reilly reported. "Also, we have reports of explosions. Wild One  
confirmed in area, type unknown. Tracer not responding."  
  
"Our response teams?" Yamaki asked, voice hard.  
  
"On the way."  
  
"Response teams?" Janyu asked.  
  
"Special teams assigned to capture and bring in any Wild Ones that appear.  
Once done, the Wild Ones are studied and, if necessary, destroyed."  
  
"You're kidding." Dolphin gasped. "They're alive!"  
  
"'They' are nothing more than electronic signals with delusions of grandeur."  
Yamaki replied in that same hard tone. "Or would you rather those things that  
you created wander the streets freely, destroying everything in sight?"  
  
Dolphin was about to reply, when he caught Babel's expression. "I see." was  
what Dolphin could manage.  
  
"What about humans that are caught in the crossfire?" Janyu asked, voice level.  
  
"We've been lucky so far in that no one has actually encountered a wild one  
and made a credible report about it. If necessary, we detain any humans who  
come into contact with digimon and debrief them, then swear them to secrecy.  
This is not a child's game, Janyu. This is a war."  
  
More like a vendetta, Janyu thought to himself. Unknown to him, Dolphin and  
Babel were thinking the same thing.  
  
==  
  
"Now what?" Jeri asked as Gabumon was lifted up to near where Takato was  
hanging. Guilmon and Templarmon circled Gesomon, waiting for a chance to  
attack.  
  
"Hitomi! Jeri!" Nami yelled. "Get out of here!"  
  
"We can't leave Takato and Gabumon behind!" Jeri protested. "We have to stop  
Gesomon!"  
  
"Jeri!" Hitomi called. "Press the button on that pokeball, and throw it at  
Gesomon when I give you the word! That'll capture it so we can get it out of  
here without anyone noticing." Jeri nodded. Hitomi caught Templarmon's eye;  
the armoured digimon nodded, and got ready. "Templarmon, attack!"  
  
"Go!" Templarmon yelled. He dodged a swat from Gesomon's tentacle, then ran  
up the limb, punching the aquatic digimon in the head, then backflipping off.  
Gesomon fired a spray of ink, catching Templarmon in the face. He rolled,  
landing near Ms. Asaji. "Jeri, NOW!" Templarmon yelled.  
  
Jeri nodded, pressing the button and hurling the ball. Gesomon saw this item  
coming at her, and tried to block it with one of his hostages. As luck (and  
dramatic necessity -ed) would have it, the pokeball hit Gabumon instead. The  
ball opened, sucked Gabumon in, and returned to Jeri's hand.  
  
"Ah NUTS!" Takato yelled. Distracted, Guilmon jumped onto one of Gesomon's  
arms, and bit down hard. Gesomon roared in pain, grip on Takato slackening.  
Templarmon, having wiped most of the ink off his face, saw this, jumped onto  
the tentacle that held Takato, and pulled the boy off.  
  
"Hitomi! Something's happening!" The pokeball in Jeri's hand was sparking,  
and rocking back and forth, as if trying to get out. Abruptly, the ball  
opened, and Gabumon reappeared.  
  
"What was THAT all about?" Gabumon yelled at Jeri. "I thought I was going to  
suffocate in there!"  
  
"I was trying to catch Gesomon! Really!" Unnoticed, the now open pokeball  
continued to spark. Then, it glowed white, its shape shifting.  
  
"Well, you could have...what's that?" Gabumon asked. Jeri looked at her hand,  
ready to answer that it was a pokeball, when she saw it had changed into  
something more familiar to her. "It's a digivice." she breathed. It was a  
digivice, resembling the ones Takato, Henry, and Rika had. However, this one  
had a yellow ring around the screen.  
  
"A what?" Gabumon asked. "Wait, you don't mean..."  
  
"Look out!" Hitomi yelled. Gesomon span in the tank, and fired a blast of ink  
at Jeri and Gabumon. Jeri screamed, and crouched down. As she did, her  
digivice lit up, light flaring out of it.  
  
"Gabumon, digivolve to...Leomon!" Leomon blocked the shot, black ink spraying  
over his chest. "I'm back to my Champion form." Leomon whispered, stunned.  
"Did that girl do this?" Then, in a louder voice. "I don't know what's going  
on here, but I think you've worn out your welcome. Fist of the Beast King!"  
Leomon's attack slammed into Gesomon, forcing the digimon against the wall of  
the tank it was now trapped in.  
  
"Payback time!" Takato exclaimed. "Digi-modify! Raidramon's Thunder Blast  
activate!" Guilmon fired a bolt of lightning, which got a boost from  
  
Templarmon's own Thunder Baton attack. Gesomon writhed in the tank, then  
disintegrated.  
  
"That was...different." Leomon said, then glowed and reverted to Gabumon.  
"Hey, I changed back!" He looked at Jeri. "This is going to take some  
explaining."  
  
"Just great." Nami sighed. "Now we've got another one. They never covered  
this in university."  
  
==Hypnos  
  
"Teams report that there were no Wild Ones in the area, though there was  
extensive damage to the upper areas. It looks like there was a fight there."  
Talli finished her report after debriefing the investigators, then let Reilly  
take over.  
  
"Just before the Wild One was eliminated, we recorded two power spikes,  
possibly from other Wild Ones in the area. It may have been them that  
eliminated the first one."  
  
"Any images? Clues left behind?" Yamaki asked.  
  
Reilly shook her head. "Nothing yet, sir. Technician Ramone is working on  
footage from one of the security cameras; he said he might be able to clean up  
the image a bit.  
  
In his office, Technician Michael Ramone stared at the screen. It was mostly  
static, but he could pick out a few forms moving around. He knew that whatever  
had removed that digimon was powerful, and possibly a source of trouble for his  
own plans. Still, he knew he could uncover something useful. After all, he  
had an edge when it came to digital equipment.  
  
==2 hours later.  
  
"You wished to see me?" Yamaki asked Ramone as he entered Yamaki's office.  
  
"Yes, I managed to uncover something you might find interesting. I was only  
able to get a partial image off the feed from the security cameras, but I  
managed to clean up the image enough to make this out." Ramone handed over a  
set of printouts, screen captures from the security camera. "I believe that  
this is the same girl that Reilly reported in the park a few weeks back, yes?"  
  
Yamaki looked at the photos. It was indeed her, that same girl that he had  
tried to follow, the one with the odd creature on her shoulder. She had  
something out, a small oval device, but he couldn't make it out. She looked so  
normal, yet he could not find out anything about her.  
  
"Orders, sir?" Ramone asked.  
  
Yamaki looked up. This is a war, he reminded himself. If she is who she  
appears to be, then she has nothing to fear. "That's all right. I'll see to  
this myself. You've done well, Ramone. I will need you again in a day or so."  
Ramone nodded, and left. Once he had, Yamaki picked up a phone, and began  
giving orders.  
  
==2 days later.  
  
Hitomi was in the park, taking Eevee for a walk. She had to leave her  
pokegear at home, as the charge was low. Noctowl had declined to come along,  
preferring to sleep in the daytime.  
  
"It's weird, isn't it? Jeri's a Tamer now." Eevee said to Hitomi. "I wonder  
how long it will take for Gabumon to get used to the idea."  
  
"He did sound a bit like Terriermon, at least whenever Suzie gets a hold of  
him." The two kept walking along the path.  
  
They were approaching the exit when a pair of hands reached out of one of the  
bushes and grabbed Hitomi. She tried to scream, but one of the attacker's  
hands was clamped around her mouth. Snarling, Eevee turned, trying to tackle  
the man, but was intercepted by a second man. Both were wearing suits and  
black sunglasses.  
  
Hitomi started kicking, and the heel of her shoe landed on her assailant's  
kneecap, hard enough to make the man grunt in pain, and release Hitomi. Eevee  
had managed to dodge around his attacker, and had managed to land several bites  
on his hands and face. "RUN!" he yelled. Hitomi started to, then felt a sharp  
jab in her back. Suddenly woozy, she collapsed, the knockout drug making her  
unconscious in seconds. Eevee went berserk, slamming his head into the second  
attacker's chin, knocking that man out, and loosening several of his teeth in  
the process. He jumped off, and ran at the third attacker, a man with what  
looked like a large rifle. His Skull Bash flattened that man, but not before  
he received two darts. Eevee collapsed.  
  
"Hypnos agent Yagami. We have them, but need medical assistance."  
  
Next Episode  
Learning that Hypnos has captured Hitomi and Eevee, the other tamers mount a  
raid to try and recover her. However, they must make it into the Hypnos  
building, where they learn something surprising about Yamaki. Next time on  
Digicross Tamers:  
-Bring Back Hitomi! Rika and Jeri to the rescue! 


	13. Digicross Tamers 13 Bring Back Hitomi!

"How is she?" Yamaki asked. He was looking over Hitomi's sleeping form, the  
girl having been sedated almost continually since she had been brought in.  
  
"So far, nothing. She's just a normal girl, about 10 or 11."  
  
"And the Wild One?"  
  
The researcher sighed. "That's not a simple question. Our nearest guess is  
that it's some sort of hybrid; we've detected both regular DNA strands and  
Digital DNA patterns in it. But we can't figure out how it got there. I think  
we have something completely new on our hands."  
  
"Dissection?"  
  
The researcher shook his head again. "Every time we try, the girl seems to  
react negatively. It's as if what happens to the creature is felt by her."  
  
"I see. How about that object that was with her."  
  
"Most interesting." The researcher said. "It's virtually identical to the  
digivices they have on the TV series. But none of us can make it work. We  
can't even take the thing apart, and we've tried everything short of an atomic  
bomb in trying to open it up."  
  
"I see." Yamaki said. "Continue with your work. I'll have technician Ramone  
assigned to your team." The researcher nodded, and left. Yamaki looked  
around. Where was Talli, he wondered.  
  
===========================================================================  
  
Digicross Tamers episode 13  
-Bring Back Hitomi!  
  
===========================================================================  
  
Nami Asaji slumped down in her chair. She had called in sick the last two  
days, since Hitomi had disappeared. She was torn about what to do. She went  
to the police, but there was little they could do; legally, Hitomi did not  
exist outside of what was listed in the school database. The policeman that  
had taken the report nodded, assured her that this sort of thing happened all  
the time, and left after getting a full description of her and Eevee. There was  
a flutter of wings at the window; Noctowl had returned. He had been searching  
the city since Hitomi and Eevee had vanished. She knew that Takato and Henry  
were looking for her as well, despite what she had told them.  
  
There was a knock at the door. Dully, she got up, walked over, and opened it.  
Yuka Nonaka stepped in. "Nami, I came as soon as Rika told me what happened!  
Are you doing all right?"  
  
"Ms No-"  
  
"Ah, it's Yuka, dear. Rumiko's out of town right now, so I decided to come  
over and keep you company. Have you had any word on Hitomi yet? Rika and her  
friend have been tearing up half the city looking for her."  
  
"H...her friend?"  
  
"Renamon." Yuka replied. "I met her last night."  
  
==Last night  
  
"Hitomi's missing?" Yuka asked, shocked. Rika, her granddaughter, nodded her  
head. "How long?"  
  
"About a day now. She was taking Eevee for a walk and never came back."  
  
"And you've been searching for her, haven't you?"  
  
Rika pulled back, scowl appearing on her face. "Well, what do you expect me to  
do? Sitting around's not my style."  
  
Yuka had to smile at that. "No it isn't. Just be careful, alright? I don't  
want you to go missing as well, Rika." Yuka looked at one of the walls.  
"You'll see to that, right?"  
  
"Grandma?"  
  
"You can come out now, I won't tell anyone else about you." Yuka kept her  
sight locked on the wall. A tall figure appeared out of the shadows.  
  
"Renamon." Rika gasped. She turned back to Yuka. "I can explain, grandma,  
really!"  
  
"It's all right. I've known for a while that you've had a guardian angel.  
Renamon, right?"  
  
Renamon nodded. "I will not let anything happen to Rika."  
  
"I know that. And I know that asking you to watch Rika will just make her  
mad." Yuka saw Rika gasp. "You two had better go get some rest. I'll go over  
to visit Ms. Asaji tomorrow, so don't worry if I'm out, all right?"  
  
==  
  
"Don't worry." Yuka told Nami gently. "If Renamon's anything like Rika, she  
won't stop until Hitomi's found and returned to you." Nami tried to reply, but  
her strength finally gave out, and she started crying. Yuka just held the  
teacher, letting her get it out of her system.  
  
==Takato's home.  
  
"Anything?" Takato asked Henry.  
  
"Nothing. Terriermon can't find either of them, and I can't even get anything  
on my d-arc. You don't suppose she went home, do you? Back to her world?"  
  
"Without Noctowl? Or saying anything?" Takato replied.  
  
"Yeah, you're right. How's Jeri?"  
  
"She's OK. She's not taking this too well, though. She insisted on coming  
with me to search, but I couldn't let her. Her dad's pretty strict about being  
out late. Gabumon's been helping out, though. I just wish we had some clue to  
go on."  
  
"We'll just keep looking until we find her." Henry checked his watch. "I'd  
better get home; Dad already knows what happened, and he'll help out wherever  
he can."  
  
==Hypnos, about the same time.  
  
Janyu wandered down the corridor, lost in thought. He had been disturbed by  
Hitomi's disappearance, and had warned his son about doing anything rash, like  
searching for her himself. Like he'd ever listen, he admitted. Distracted, he  
made a wrong turn, going down a wrong set of stairs.  
  
Startled by a wall that shouldn't be there, Janyu looked around. "Great, lost  
in my own workplace. Not something for my resume." Picking a direction, Janyu  
headed down a hallway, to where he saw some windows and lights. "Maybe someone  
will..." Janyu stopped, gasped as he saw Hitomi, apparently asleep in one of  
the rooms. "Hitomi?"  
  
Janyu couldn't remember how he got back upstairs, or how he found Yamaki's  
office. He stormed in, wondering why he didn't just take Hitomi out of here  
right now. "What's going on here Yamaki? Why is Hitomi here?"  
  
"You'd rather it was your own son, Janyu?" Janyu stopped short. "These  
digimon present a serious threat to this entire planet. That girl, along with  
your own son, have been seen several times in company with various digimon that  
have appeared here. In addition, she may not be of this world; we recorded an  
unusual signal some time ago, and this 'Hitomi' is emitting that same signal  
right now. It is my duty to take any means necessary to remove the digimon  
threat that faces this world. And if that girl and her pet can be used to that  
end, so be it."  
  
Janyu got some of his anger back. "We'll see about that."  
  
"We will, you won't." Yamaki snapped his fingers, and two burly agents  
appeared, one with several stitches on his face. "Please detain Mr. Wong until  
further notice. See that he is treated well, but he is not to leave this  
building or have any communication with anyone not involved with the current  
project." The two guards nodded, and led Janyu out.  
  
"This isn't over, Yamaki." Janyu snapped.  
  
Yamaki sat down, once Janyu had been escorted out. He knew something like  
this would happen. He hated to do it, but there was no way to avoid it. He  
typed a few commands on his computer, then took out a phone, and attached a  
small device to it. The computer dialed a number. "Wong residence." a  
pleasant female voice said.  
  
Yamaki keyed in a command, and spoke. "Meilin, it's Janyu. Listen,  
something's come up, and I'm going to have to go out of town for a while."  
  
"What? Can't you come home first?"  
  
"Sorry, dear. There's nothing I can do about it. I'll see you next week,  
promise!" Yamaki hung up. The voice program had worked perfectly. No one on  
the other end would know that Yamaki had been mimicking Janyu's voice, taking  
cues from the computer. He got up. There was one more thing he had to do.  
  
==Hypnos secondary lab  
  
Babel looked up. "Where on earth is Tao? I thought he was just out  
stretching his legs."  
  
Dolphin shrugged. He was about to answer when Technician Ramone entered the  
room. "Mr. Wong has been sent on a field assignment; once it has been  
completed, he will be back. How goes the research?"  
  
"We're stumped." Babel answered. "We've gone over the original program we  
devised, but we can't explain what's happening here. The digimon we created  
should not have developed as far as they have. Even Unix isn't that powerful."  
  
"Any luck on finding Shibumi?" Dolphin asked. "He was responsible for a lot  
of the higher level coding, including the survival and adaptive subroutines."  
  
"None yet." Ramone replied. "It is as if he dropped off the face of the  
planet."  
  
==Hypnos, ground level.  
  
Reilly exited the elevator. She saw Talli there, changing out of her work  
uniform, and savagely stuffing it into a locker. "Talli? What is it? What's  
wrong?"  
  
Talli whirled around, red eyes locked on Reilly. "We kidnapped a 10 year old  
girl, and you're asking me what's wrong? I didn't sign on for this!"  
  
"She might be the key to fighting off the digimon that are threatening this  
world." Reilly replied. She was worried this might happen. "You know what  
happened two years ago. We just want to make sure it doesn't happen again."  
  
"I don't care! Reilly, can't you see this is wrong? I can't take this any  
more. I'm leaving Hypnos, and if I never see this place again, I'll be happy.  
Maybe I can even forgive myself." Talli walked away. Reilly put a hand on her  
shoulder, but Talli turned and slapped Reilly across the face. "Don't EVER  
touch me again." Talli walked out. Reilly fell to her knees, watching her  
best friend leave the building they had spent the last two years working in.  
  
==Asaji home.  
  
After Nami had cried herself out, Yuka had told her to sit down while she made  
her some tea. "This should help you calm down a bit. I'm sure they'll find  
Hitomi soon." There was a knock at the door. "Why don't you get it." Yuka  
called from the kitchen. "My hands are a bit full."  
  
"All right." Nami got up and opened the door. Standing there was a tall man,  
wearing a suit and sunglasses. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Nami Asaji?" Nami nodded. "My name's Yamaki, I'm here about Hitomi, I have  
a few questions to ask you."  
  
Nami was about to reply when Yuka's voice cut her off. "You." Yuka snapped,  
recognizing Yamaki. "You were the pervert that was chasing Hitomi earlier."  
Nami backed away, and Noctowl came out, fixing Yamaki with his steely glare.  
  
"I assure you, Hitomi is in no danger right now, but I do have several  
questions that must be answered."  
  
Nami grabbed Yamaki by his collar. "Where is she?" Nami demanded. "What have  
you done with her?" Yamaki tried to pull away, finally succeeding in shoving  
Nami away, knocking the teacher to the ground. Noctowl flew at Yamaki, clawing  
and pecking at the man's face. Yamaki backed off, flinching under the fierce  
assault. Noctowl chased Yamaki to the elevator, then flew back.  
  
Yuka, having run over to Nami and helped her up, looked at Noctowl. "Thank  
you. Now we know who has her, we just need to know where." Noctowl nodded and  
flew out a window, following Yamaki. "Nami, you'd better get everything Hitomi  
owns and come with me to my place. We'll be a bit safer there."  
  
==Hypnos labs  
  
"Are you sure about this?" the technician asked Reilly.  
  
Reilly nodded. "I think it's time we took a more direct approach. Can we do  
this?"  
  
The tech nodded. "This will bring the subject-"  
  
"Hitomi." Reilly interrupted. "Her name is Hitomi."  
  
"Right. This will bring Hitomi into a semi-awake state. She'll be in a sort  
of trance, and will answer any simple questions asked of her. Don't stimulate  
her too much or she may become fully awake." Reilly nodded. "Ma'am?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I know you're just following orders, but...this feels wrong. I don't like  
doing this to digimon, much less little girls."  
  
"I know." Reilly said quietly. "Please proceed." The tech nodded, and  
injected Hitomi with a small amount of stimulant. The girl began to come  
around, the technician monitoring her vital signs. "Hitomi? Hitomi Motomiya,  
can you hear me?"  
  
"...yes..." Hitomi's voice was almost inaudible.  
  
Reilly nodded. "I need to know where you're from. Can you tell me?"  
  
"Stone Town, Kanto....region..."  
  
Reilly leaned closer. "How did you get here. Can you tell me that?" Reilly  
kept her voice calm, gentle.  
  
"Accident...an Unown followed me....trapped....mom? Mom...MOM DAD WHERE ARE  
YOU?" Hitomi started screaming. The tech quickly applied another sedative,  
and Hitomi passed out again. The technician disposed of the needles he had  
used, then pulled off his mask.  
  
"I'm sorry. I can't do this any more. I hope you got what you needed."  
  
Reilly looked up. "I think I did. I'll...I'll tell Yamaki you called in sick."  
  
==  
  
Ramone looked at the digivice. Right now, it was inert. "What is this  
thing's secret?" He knew that it held some key to allowing the creature in the  
next room to digivolve. He could feel the power inside it.  
  
The girl. She had to have the answer. Quickly, Ramone hacked into the  
security systems. Reilly was just leaving the room. Hitomi was unattended.  
"Perfect." he muttered, getting up.  
  
One room over, Eevee looked around. There was no way out of the cage he was  
in; it was solid steel, and bolted to the table. The table itself was solid  
metal. He paced back and forth, casting dark glares at the one guard in the  
room. Hang on, Hitomi, he thought. I'll get you out of here whatever it costs  
me.  
  
==  
  
"This is getting too weird." Babel said to Dolphin. "First Tao takes off on  
some field assignment, now our computer access is cut off. You think there's  
something they're not telling us?"  
  
"A top secret government project not telling us something? Heaven forbid."  
Dolphin replied. "Of course, we could try to find out something. Perhaps that  
firewall on the secondary server connection?"  
  
Babel grinned. "Already handled. You must be getting slow, old man."  
  
"Says you, baldy. I just wanted to give you a chance to keep up."  
  
"Right. Careful Dolphin, your hairline's receding." There was a beep from  
the computer. "Email? One sec." Babel checked the computer. "No sender,  
just says that we'll need this. And there's a program attached. You been  
visiting all those naughty internet sites again?"  
  
Dolphin sighed, crossing his arms. "Funny. Try running it." Babel nodded,  
opening the application. Instantly, several screen lit up. "It's hacking into  
the security cameras. Hey, check this out!"  
  
Babel looked at the screen Dolphin indicated. "That's Tao, all right. Field  
assignment my foot. So, what now?"  
  
Dolphin thought about it. "Now, nothing. We'd better get out of here, then  
come back when we have a plan. We can't be the only ones who know about this.  
Looks like we're fighting the government again."  
  
Babel grinned. "Just like old times."  
  
==  
  
Talli walked down the street, still angry. She didn't know what to do next,  
she just wanted to get as far away from Hypnos as possible.  
  
"I should have done something." she muttered to herself. "I should have  
gotten her out of there." She stopped, wondering what to do next. Then she  
saw a boy she recognized.  
  
"Henry? Henry Wong?" Talli ran over to the boy.  
  
Henry looked at her. "Who wants to know?"  
  
"Please, I know where Hitomi is. I need to speak with the other tamers. It's  
urgent!"  
  
==  
  
Calumon looked at the Hypnos building. "Did I just see Impmon heading over  
there? I wonder what he wants in that place?" Calumon shrugged, and went back  
to playing tag with Unown.  
  
Impmon, completely unaware of Calumon's interest in him, made his way to the  
Hypnos building. "I gotta be nuts!" he grunted. "I finally find that freak  
again, and he tries to blow me away! Why am I going back there?"  
  
He finally got within site of the building. He knew that whatever system  
that was in there could detect digimon, so he decided to wait on a rooftop  
until nightfall. Then he could sneak in and settle accounts with that man in  
there.  
  
"This is all Monodramon's fault, I just know it!"  
  
==Later that afternoon.  
  
"And that's everything." Talli told everyone. Henry, Takato, Jeri, and Rika  
were there, along with Rika's grandmother and Nami.  
  
"They just...grabbed her off the street?" Jeri asked.  
  
Talli nodded.  
  
"So, when do we go get her?" Takato asked.  
  
"That's out of the question!" Nami almost yelled. "You're just children, I  
can't let you attack a government building like that! This is a job for the  
police!"  
  
"And tell them what?" Rika asked. "Our friend is being held by a secret  
government organization because she's from another dimension, and they think  
she might be connected to all those reports of monsters appearing?"  
  
"And dad hasn't come home yet." Henry added. "I'm beginning to think that  
that 'out of town assignment' call mom got was a fake."  
  
Nami looked at Henry. "But-"  
  
"They're right." Jeri said. "If they have Hitomi and Henry's dad, any one of  
us could be next."  
  
"And Hypnos can access any form of electronic communication." Talli added.  
"If we went to the police, they'd know about it almost instantly."  
  
"That's probably how they found out about you, Nami." Yuka said. "I don't  
think we have a choice."  
  
"I might be able to sneak myself and one or two others in with me, but it will  
be tricky." Noctowl flew in. He landed by Nami and cawed quietly.  
  
"I think Noctowl can help you." Nami said quietly.  
  
"Don't worry." Takato said. "We won't go crazy or anything. We just go in,  
get Hitomi, Eevee, and Henry's dad out, and leave." He turned to Talli. "Can  
we get our digimon inside?"  
  
"It will be hard. The Scanner dome is set to detect any active digimon. The  
only way would be to cut the power to the place."  
  
"Fine then." Rika said. "Henry and I go in, while Takato cuts the power to  
the place."  
  
"Why me?" Takato asked.  
  
"Because a dinosaur the size of a house might be too big to sneak around  
inside a building? Guilmon's not the most subtle digimon around."  
  
"What about me?" Jeri asked. "Can Leomon and I help?"  
  
Rika blinked. "Leomon?"  
  
"Yeah," Takato said, "Jeri became Gabumon's tamer just before Hitomi got  
caught. He digivolved to Leomon to fight a Gesomon that attacked us."  
  
Rika sighed. "Great, another amateur." That got an elbow from Yuka. Rika  
cleared her throat. "Look, Jeri, I know you want to help, but this is really  
dangerous. We can't make any mistakes doing this."  
  
"She can help me cut the power lines." Takato said. Jeri nodded.  
  
Rika sighed again. "Fine. Everyone get ready. We're leaving in an hour."  
Rika stood up, and left the room.  
  
Nami watched Rika leave. "We can't let them do this!" she said to Yuka.  
"They're just kids!"  
  
"Children are full of surprises." Yuka replied. "And I don't think we could  
stop them." she added, as Henry, Takato, and Jeri left the room to get their  
digimon ready. "I could see it in their eyes. Hitomi's their friend, and they  
won't stop until they get her back."  
  
==  
  
Talli waited outside, car idling. Henry walked up to the car, Terriermon on  
his shoulder. "Thanks for bailing me out," Terriermon chirped, "Suzie was  
acting all weird again."  
  
"Terriermon, this is serious."  
  
"Hey, relax. Takato told me everything. We sneak in all ninja like and save  
the damsel in distress. What's the problem?"  
  
Henry looked at Terriermon, sudden image of him on a dissection table filling  
his thoughts. "Plenty, if we blow this. Promise me you'll be careful, all  
right?"  
  
Terriermon sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll be all Renamon like."  
  
"I heard that." Renamon said, appearing. Startled, Terriermon nearly fell off  
Henry's shoulder.  
  
"Do you practice freaking people out?" Terriermon complained.  
  
"It's a talent." Renamon replied, voice flat.  
  
"Can we get on with this?" Rika stepped out of the house, heading to where  
Talli and Henry were. Henry had to resist the urge to stare. Her normal  
outfit, jeans and a T-shirt with a broken heart on it, was replaced by a dark  
trenchcoat, black jeans, and a dark grey shirt with a skull and crossbones on  
it. Rika's expression was hard, a mix of anger and determination.  
  
"Yeah. Let's go." Henry managed. "Jeri and Takato are on their way. Once  
they take out the power station, there'll be a short amount of time where we  
can get in with our digimon. Then we find everyone and get out." Rika nodded.  
Everyone piled into the car. Rika took the front seat, leaving Henry stuck in  
the back with Terriermon, Renamon, and Noctowl.  
  
==  
  
Outside the Hypnos building, Takato, Jeri, Guilmon, and Gabumon watched for a  
chance to attack. "We should be able to attack in another two minutes. That's  
when the shift in the scanning room changes over."  
  
Jeri looked at the building they had targeted. "You were right about one  
thing." she whispered. "They do have a super digimon detector."  
  
Takato chuckled. "Look, Jeri, Just...just be careful, all right? I don't  
want anything to happen to you."  
  
"Silly." Jeri replied, leaning over and giving Takato a kiss on his cheek.  
"As long as I have Gabumon and you with me, I'll be all right. I think it's  
time." Takato's watch beeped. The two children took cards out, ready to use  
them. "Digi modify!" they said, slashing the cards through their digivices.  
  
"Rain of pollen activate!"  
  
"Cat's eye hypnotism, activate!"  
  
Guilmon jumped forward, spitting a cloud of dust at the guards around the  
power building. Taken by surprise, they quickly fell over, asleep. A third  
guard came out, but Gabumon quickly hypnotized him, rendering him unconscious.  
Gabumon pumped his arm. "Yes!"  
  
Guilmon coughed, small puffs of pollen coming out his nose. "I think I  
inhaled, Takatomon."  
  
"You'll be fine. Ready for stage two, Jeri, Gabumon?" The two nodded. "Digi  
modify! Offense plug in V, activate!"  
  
Jeri had a second card out. "Digi-modify! Digmon's Gold Rush, activate!"  
Gabumon's horn reshaped itself into what looked like a large drill bit, which  
promptly launched and struck the outside of the building. The attack tore  
through the wall and exposed the systems within. Guilmon fired a powered up  
fireball through the hole, barbecuing everything in there."  
  
"Okay, let's go!" Takato yelled, leading Jeri out of the area.  
  
==  
  
Yamaki had gone straight home, deciding not to go back to work. He was  
pretty sure that that owl was following him. No sense leading it back to  
Hypnos. Instead, he had rested, treated the scratches Noctowl had inflicted on  
him. He hadn't meant to doze off, but he had, dreams of happier times with his  
son, Ryo, filling his head.  
  
A beeping noise woke him up. He checked his pager, saw that there was trouble  
at Hypnos. He tried calling in. No answer. There was a dull whirring noise  
from his room. He went in, checked the source. he came out several minutes  
later, dressed and clutching a small black object in his hand.  
==  
  
Impmon got up. "What's all the racket?" he wondered. He picked out Guilmon  
and Gabumon leaving the area, along with two humans. "I wonder what's up?  
Pineapple head probably thought there was a buffet in side. Well, as long as  
he's making such a nice big distraction, I might as well pay a visit."  
  
==  
  
Michael Ramon stared at Hitomi, wondering who this girl was. She felt  
different from the other humans here, like she didn't really belong here. He  
looked around, double checked that the security camera was disabled. "I really  
can't see anything like this." he muttered, then made a dismissive gesture.  
His form seemed to ripple, then was replaced with a different form. This one  
was smaller, looking more like an abstracted monkey.  
  
Makuramon took out a small silver orb, holding it over Hitomi. "Now that I'm  
free of that useless disguise, I can use my full power. Now, my dear, let's  
see what secrets you hold." The orb glowed, and Hitomi was bathed in a harsh  
silver light. She writhed as she felt the pain, even in her unconscious state.  
As she did, her digivice activated.  
  
"Interesting." Makuramon said, noting this.  
  
==New Bark Town.  
  
Kyoko got up, awaken by some feeling of dread. "Hitomi." she muttered,  
getting up. Beside her, Gatomon, her partner, also got up. The two headed for  
the lab where Kyoko's father worked.  
  
When she got there, she found that there were several other people there.  
"Takeru! Sam! Asuka! How...?"  
  
Takeru snorted. "We were wondering when you'd get here. You always were a  
sleepyhead." Then, in a more serious tone, he went on, saying "Hitomi's in  
trouble. Any ideas what we should do?"  
  
Sam looked at the portal that Izzy had been working on. "Well, how about our  
digivices? It worked for our parents? Remember what they said about Skull  
Demon?"  
  
Everyone nodded. "Let's do it then." Asuka said, pointing her digivice at the  
portal. It lit up, and a beam of light shot out. Everyone else did likewise.  
  
==Another digital world.  
  
Hiroki Hida stepped out of the small hut that he, Ryoko, and the digidestined  
they were travelling with were sleeping in. Sneasel was already outside, as  
was Ryoko. "You can feel it, can't you?" Sneasel asked.  
  
Hiroki nodded. "Hitomi's in trouble." On instinct, he held his digivice out,  
pointing it at the sky. It lit up, and fired a beam of energy out. A second  
later, a beam from Ryoko's digivice joined it. The beams went up, then seemed  
to fade out. The two stayed outside, hoping that their friend was all right.  
  
==Stone Town  
  
Kyle shot up. "Hitomi!" he gasped, waking June up. Both of their digivices  
started beeping crazily, flashing like miniature strobe lights. The two of  
them pulled on whatever clothes they could find, and ran for the computer.  
  
June pointed her digivice at the computer. "Digiport open!" she yelled,  
fearing the worst. The familiar graphic appeared, and Kyle and June were  
pulled through.  
  
They appeared in Izzy and Kari's living room, nearly colliding with the  
Kamiyas as they exited the portal. Without any hesitation, the four ran to the  
lab. "What's going on?" Kyle demanded as soon as he saw the children there.  
  
"We're trying to help Hitomi." Asuka snapped. Kyle was about to reply when  
his digivice emitted a low whistling sound.  
  
==Hypnos lab (phew! -ed)  
  
Makuramon stepped back. He would not have recognized the object that came out  
of the digivice as the Digiegg of Loyalty. It levitated straight up, then flew  
into a computer screen, vanishing as it did so. A second later, the computer  
exploded.  
  
"What's going on here?" he asked, stupefied.  
  
In another area, Reilly worked madly to bring the systems under control.  
Yamaki was not in, meaning that she was effectively in charge of the whole mess  
right now. "What's going on? First we lose main power, then the scanner goes  
all haywire!" Half of the staff was gone for the night, and the loss of power  
meant that over half of the security systems were gone.  
  
"Whoever did this knew where to hit us." Reilly grumbled. One of the working  
monitors lit up. Curious, Reilly took a look.  
  
==  
  
Talli tried her passcard again, but the scanner beeped, the red light staying  
on. "Lockdown." she muttered.  
  
"Now what?" Rika asked.  
  
"Watch and learn." Talli replied. She pried the box open with a pen knife,  
and played with the wires for a second. With a hiss, the door opened. "We're  
in!" Talli led the two children and their digimon in.  
  
==  
  
Janyu woke up. He had drifted off, still locked inside the small office.  
There was a loud knock coming from the door. "Janyu?" a familiar voice could  
be heard. "You awake? Come on, wake up old man!"  
  
"Dolphin!" Janyu ran over to the door. "What's going on?"  
  
"We're busting you out!" Babel's voice said. There were some clicks, and the  
door swung open. "That's how you do it, got it, Dolphin?"  
  
"Clearly, your youth was misspent." Dolphin replied. "I'm surprised you can  
remember that far back."  
  
"Cute. Come on, let's get out of here."  
  
"Wait!" Janyu said. "We have to get Hitomi out of here too."  
  
"Who?" Babel asked.  
  
"I'll explain later. You have a map of this place?"  
  
"What do you think?" Dolphin replied.  
  
"We're toast." Babel muttered.  
  
==  
  
Reilly saw Talli override the electronic lock, allowing her, two children,  
Noctowl, and a pair of digimon enter the building. Her hand hesitated over the  
alert button, remembering what Talli had said earlier. Finally, she keyed an  
intercom. "Security team to level 1. There's an error listed in the main  
gate, could you check it out?" Reilly cut the mike off, and leaned back.  
"That's all I can do, Talli. Good luck." Another sensor went off. Executive  
override, entering the vehicle bay.  
  
"Yamaki's here." Reilly muttered.  
  
==  
  
Noctowl flew along the corridors. The security forces there were panicked  
enough that they didn't bother to look up; Noctowl was able to fly silently  
along. Talli had told him where Eevee and Hitomi were; she and the two tamers  
would get Hitomi, while Noctowl would go find Eevee. Once that was done, wait  
there for the tamers to arrive.  
  
Noctowl made his way up several elevator shafts, through open doorways, and  
around security cameras. Finally, he reached the floor he had been told about.  
A few doors down, and...  
  
The guard watching Eevee heard some scratching at the door. His orders were  
strict, do not, repeat NOT leave the room until someone comes and relieves you,  
he was told. He had stayed here even when the power had flickered. "Must be  
my relief." he thought, opening the door.  
  
Noctowl flew in, surprising the guard. He then used his hypnotic powers,  
creating a very specific illusion he had been planning.  
  
"Intruders...must get weapons ready..." Mind almost completely under Noctowl's  
control, the guard walked over and unlocked Eevee's cage, thinking it was a box  
that held firearms, like the ones Noctowl had spotted in one of the guard rooms  
he had seen. The latch fell open, and the guard got ready to reach in to take  
a gun out. Eevee took the opportunity to Skull Bash the guard, knocking him  
out.  
  
"Where's Hitomi?" Eevee asked. Noctowl made a few cawing noises. "All the  
other tamers are here?" he asked, incredulous. More caws. "Rika's here? Huh,  
Takato must have pulled out all the stops. Come on, let's find Hitomi!" Eevee  
ran out of the room, Noctowl following him.  
  
==Mid-dimension  
  
The energy from the other digivices hovered there, waiting for a sign. It was  
not sentient by any stretch of the word, but the other digidestined had managed  
to transmit a need for this energy to find the digivice belonging to Hitomi.  
  
From one of the worlds, a golden flare appeared. A small object was rapidly  
travelling from one world to another. It went through the energy ball,  
unhindered. The object matched the type of energy it was looking for, and  
followed the trail the object had left in its wake.  
  
==New Bark Town  
  
Kyle's digivice was glowing brighter now, as was the portal that Izzy had  
built. There was an explosion from it, as an object slammed into Kyle's  
digivice. Confused, Kyle looked at it. "That's the symbol for  
loyalty...Hitomi's digiegg!" Kyle looked at June, near panic.  
  
Izzy took in this information, then realized what it meant. "Out of my way!"  
he yelled, running to one of the keyboards. "Come on, come on..." He worked  
feverishly, ignoring all questions from the others there.  
  
==Hypnos  
  
Hitomi woke up. The energy had charged her, clearing the sedatives out of her  
system. "What...where am I?" She looked around, and saw that she was dressed  
in a hospital gown (pullover type, friends. The back is sewn up -ed). Then  
she looked up and saw Makuramon's face. She shrieked, and rolled off the bed  
she was lying on.  
  
Makuramon summoned his staff, and pointed it at Hitomi. "Who are you? Who  
sent you? Was it Ebonwumon?" Makuramon jumped, trying to tackle Hitomi. She  
ducked the clumsy leap, darted forward, and grabbed her digivice. It shone  
again, blinding both people  
  
==New Bark  
  
"I've got a lock on her digivice!" Izzy yelled.  
  
==Hypnos (that was quick -ed)  
  
Talli, leading the two tamers with her, picked her way along the corridors.  
They had to make several detours, as parts of the facility were now sealed off.  
  
"We shouldn't be far now." Talli told the others. "We-" she stopped as a  
black suited figure stepped out of an elevator shaft. "Mr. Yamaki!" she gasped.  
  
Yamaki spun on his heel. "Giving tours, Talli?" he asked slowly. "I had no  
idea this was an open workplace. I-" Yamaki stopped, seeing Rika. "You." he  
breathed.  
  
"Me?" Rika asked. Beside her, Renamon fell into a fighting stance.  
  
Yamaki fell back. "I don't know why you've come here, Talli, but this isn't  
over." Yamaki ducked back, went into a stairwell, and ran upstairs. Rika  
started to follow him.  
  
"Forget him." Henry said. "Hitomi and Eevee are our only priorities here."  
  
"Right." Rika said.  
  
"Did you know him?" Renamon asked.  
  
  
"He seems to think so." Rika replied. "How do we get past this shutter?" she  
asked, kicking a large metal door. "We're running out of time, especially if  
that guy sends security down here."  
  
Henry pulled a card out. "Leave it to me. Digi-modify! Digivolution,  
activate!"  
  
"Terriermon, digivolve to...Gargomon!" Gargomon aimed his cannons, and  
promptly blew a hole through the door. "Someone need an exit?"  
  
==  
  
Yamaki ran up the stairs. He remembered that girl, she was the one that his  
son had beat for the championship two years ago. "Full circle." he muttered.  
He made it to the top, opened a doorway. It was a secret passageway he'd  
discovered when he first came to work here. He could get to his office much  
faster than those kids could.  
  
"They must be here for that girl. Well, they can have her, as long as the  
digimon go." Yamaki entered a small storage room, where a project he had been  
working on sat, largely unnoticed. He took an object, shaped like a large  
handgun, and left the room. "Talli's leading them straight to that girl, so I  
should be able to intercept them if I hurry."  
  
==  
  
Hitomi's eyes managed to adjust to the light coming from her digivice. It was  
starting to subside now. Was it damaged, she wondered. The D-3 started to  
pulse, then a ring of energy formed around the small screen, and expanded  
outwards. As it did, the D-3 changed shape!  
  
"A D-arc." Hitomi breathed. She yelped again as Makuramon swung his staff at  
her, missing her head. Hitomi ran to the door, opened it, and ran into the  
hallway. Makuramon yelled, running after her. Hitomi ran down a hallway,  
trying to get away from the attacking digimon.  
  
==  
  
Two floors up, Eevee stopped. His head lifted up, ears twitching. "Noctowl,  
I have to go down!" Noctowl indicated a fire escape. "Well, what's one more  
alarm here?" Eevee yelled, tackling the lever that opened the door. A fire  
alarm went off. Eevee and Noctowl ignored it, dashing down the stairs.  
  
==  
  
"Dragon Wheel!" Kyuubimon's attack knocked another wall down; Renamon had  
digivolved to help with getting through the locked doors. They were making  
good time.  
  
"Hitomi was being kept in a room three levels up. If we keep going this way,  
we should find her in no time."  
  
Yamaki entered out of one of the stairwells. "That's far enough, children."  
Yamaki said, unmoved by the sight of Gargomon aiming his gun arms at him  
  
"Where is she?" Rika demanded angrily. "We know you have her here  
somewhere!" Kyuubimon tensed, ready to fight.  
  
"And we'll tear the whole place apart if we have to!" Henry added. You know  
we have the power to do that." I hope Takato and Growlmon are ready, he added  
mentally.  
  
"Power," Yamaki said calmly, "should be only used by those able to handle  
it." As he spoke, he took out a small black object.  
  
Rika's eyes widened. "That's..."  
  
Henry saw it too. "You're a..."  
  
Yamaki snorted, passing a card through his digivice. "Humph. Downgrade,  
activate!" The energy from Yamaki's digivice slammed into Kyuubimon and  
Gargomon, devolving them instantly.  
  
"How...?" Henry gasped.  
  
"I received this digivice two years ago, shortly before my son was killed by a  
digimon. I've since loaded it with a program I call Yuugoth. Shall I  
demonstrate its higher functions?" Yamaki took the device he had been carrying  
out of his jacket, and slipped the digivice into it. "I call this a Yuugoth  
blaster. It's designed to destroy digital data." He aimed the gun at Renamon,  
who was struggling to get up. "Like this." Yamaki fired.  
  
Rika got in front of the shot, blocking it. She flinched, but was unharmed.  
  
"Rika..." Renamon gasped.  
  
"Hey, it can't hurt me, right? Henry, get going, I'll take care of this  
freakjob." Yamaki tried to get around Rika, but the girl kept blocking him.  
  
==  
  
"Digi-modify! Digivolution, activate!"  
  
"Guilmon, digivolve to...Growlmon!"  
  
"Gabumon, digivolve to...Leomon!" The two champion level digimon charged the  
Hypnos building, ready to do as much damage to the place, planning to divert  
attention from the tamers already inside the building.  
  
A woman stepped in front of the two digimon, forcing Growlmon and Leomon to  
skid to a stop. "Are you Takato Matsuki?" she asked.  
  
"Um...yeah?" Takato replied.  
  
The woman held a badge up. "Deunan McReady, Interpol. I think we have a  
common goal."  
  
==  
  
Hitomi, scared, confused, and cold as anything (barefoot on metal floors. Not  
pleasant -ed) kept running, hoping to evade Makuramon. She turned a corner,  
then screamed as a hand clamped around her. A second hand went over her mouth.  
  
"Hitomi!" Janyu said urgently. "It's me, Henry's father. Don't worry, we're  
going to get you out of here!"  
  
"What the heck is going on here?" Babel demanded. "What's this kid doing here?"  
  
Janyu was about to answer when Makuramon appeared, leaping at Hitomi, staff  
extended. He seemed to hover for a second, which was more than enough time for  
Eevee to intercept the digimon with another Skull Bash. Noctowl flew in after  
Eevee, and started trying to claw Makuramon's face.  
  
"Eevee!" Hitomi shouted, hugging her partner tightly. "I was so scared..."  
  
"It's all right." Eevee tried to calm her. "We'd better get out of here."  
  
"Not so fast." Makuramon snapped. "You still haven't answered my questions,  
young lady!"  
  
"Is that a digimon?" Dolphin asked, stunned.  
  
"Yes, I am." Makuramon replied. "But if you're expecting me to call you  
'daddy', think again! MAKAWW! Primal Orb!" Makuramon threw his silver orb at  
Dolphin. Babel knocked him over, flinching as the attack punched through a  
concrete wall.  
  
"Digi-armour energize!" Hitomi said, holding her digivice up. Nothing happened.  
  
Eevee scowled. "Peachy."  
  
==  
  
"Get out of my way!" Yamaki yelled, taking a swing with his gun at Rika.  
  
"Make me!" she replied. "I don't know what you've got against digimon or  
Hitomi, but you're not going to harm anyone while I'm here!"  
  
Something in Yamaki's mind snapped. "I won't let you take away two years of  
my life over some...girl!" He thumbed the control on the gun to its highest  
setting, then aimed it at Rika. "Either move or die with your pet." Rika's  
stare didn't waver. "Fine!" Yamaki fired.  
  
"RIKA!" Renamon yelled, trying to get up, to move her partner out of the way.  
Rika held her digivice up, just as the attack struck it. There was a loud  
crack, as if something had shorted out. When Renamon's vision cleared, she saw  
Rika, still standing, energy from her digivice trying to push the attack away.  
Both humans were locked in a silent, motionless struggle. "Rika.." Renamon  
tried to get up, to place a hand on Rika's shoulder, but flinched, as if Rika  
was charged with electricity.  
  
Yamaki was hurling all his hatred of digimon into this attack. He could feel  
the power winning against Rika's field. "You don't know what you're fighting  
for." he gasped. "They're killers, all of them!"  
  
"You're wrong!" Rika replied, straining. She felt Yamaki's attack starting to  
win. "Renamon, run! Get away from here!" Renamon shook her head, trying to  
get up, launch one last assault.  
  
"BADA BOOM!" A fireball slammed into Yamaki's arm, forcing him to drop the  
weapon. He looked around, saw Impmon standing there, barely standing.  
  
"YOU!" he roared.  
  
"I don't know what you're doing, but no one puts the hurt on me!" With a  
yell, Impmon attacked Yamaki, arms flailing. Yamaki responded likewise,  
grabbing Impmon and shoving the digimon into a wall. Rika and Renamon were  
forgotten.  
  
"Rika! Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah. Just exhausted." She looked at Yamaki and Impmon, still fighting.  
"What's going on with them?"  
  
"It looked like that digimon was being affected by Yamaki's attack. I still  
can't believe he's a tamer."  
  
"Yeah, I know. But how could that...no way." Rika breathed.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Rika watched the two fighting. "I think...they're partners."  
  
==  
  
"This way!" Talli yelled, leading Henry and Terriermon down a corridor. In  
the distance, they heard shouts. "That sounds like a fight!" The three  
hurried up.  
  
"Henry," Terriermon said, "whatever that guy did took a lot out of me. If  
there is a fight, I won't be much good to you."  
  
"We'll find a way." Henry replied. He hopped over a wrecked door, managing to  
catch a flying Eevee in the gut.  
  
"Henry!" Janyu yelled, seeing his son.  
  
"Dad!"  
  
"How touching!" Makuramon snarled. "Primal Orb!" He hurled his attack at  
Henry.  
  
Terriermon leaped off. "Terrier Tornado!" he yelled, launching a whirlwind.  
The orb was deflected, slamming into the wall by Henry's head. Terriermon  
staggered a bit, dizzied by the attack.  
  
"Terriermon, I need to get to Hitomi." Henry whispered.  
  
"This is no time to be making a pass, Henry!"  
  
"Terriermon! This is serious!"  
  
"All right, all right. Jeez, get a sense of humour, already." Terriermon  
marched towards Makuramon. "Okay you reject from the Ringling Brothers, try me  
on for size!" The monkey obliged him, attacking Terriermon.  
  
Henry darted over. "Hitomi, dad, are you all right?"  
  
"Fine thanks, don't bother asking." Dolphin muttered, getting a sharp elbow  
from Babel.  
  
"Henry," Hitomi said, "Eevee can't digivolve into Templarmon, and my digivice  
has changed!" Henry looked at her digivice, eyes widening on realizing it was  
a d-arc now.  
  
"Maybe you don't need your digiegg anymore. Here, use this." Henry handed  
Hitomi a card. "Just believe in the card."  
  
"Henry!" Terriermon yelled, as he was hurled away by Makuramon's staff,  
landing by Eevee. "If you have a plan, now's the time!"  
  
"Hitomi, do it!" Henry yelled.  
  
"Digi-modify!" Hitomi shouted, swiping the card through her digivice.  
"Digivolution activate!"  
  
Eevee felt the power surge through him. "Eevee, digivolve to..." Dimly, the  
pokemon could swear he saw his skin peeling off, revealing a grid pattern  
underneath him. He still felt better than he ever had before, though.  
Energized, even. "Jolteon!"  
  
Henry's digivice glowed. He held it up, and Jolteon's picture appeared.  
"Jolteon, champion level digital pokemon, Data type. His special attacks are  
Pin Missile and Zap Cannon."  
  
Makuramon hurled another orb at Jolteon, who dodged the attack easily. "You  
left off the increased agility." Jolteon said. The pokemon quickly attacked,  
firing dozens of needles at Makuramon. The monkey pulled back, not injured by  
the attack, but distracted. Then he started to smell ozone in the air.  
  
"If you ever, ever come near Hitomi again, this is what you'll get! ZAP  
CANNON!" The electrical ball slammed into Makuramon, seemed to float for a  
second, then exploded, hurling Makuramon through a window into an adjoining  
office. He didn't get up.  
  
There was a noise from the stairwell Henry had entered from. Jolteon turned,  
ready to attack again, but it was Rika and Renamon that came out. "Did we miss  
anything?" Rika asked.  
  
"Nothing I couldn't handle." Terriermon said, standing up. "Oh, and Hitomi's  
digivice became a D-arc, and Eevee turned into Jolteon here."  
  
Renamon regarded Jolteon. "The colour's an improvement."  
  
"Funny." Jolteon replied, deadpan.  
  
==  
  
Talli led the tamers and Monster Makers out of the building, after Dolphin and  
Babel had extracted Janyu's promise to tell them EXACTLY what was going on  
here. Outside, they found a large number of unmarked cars, Takato, Jeri, and  
their digimon standing off to one side. Jolteon and Renamon got ready to fight  
again. Takato ran up, motioning for everyone to calm down.  
  
"Uh, sorry guys," Takato said, "we kinda got sidetracked."  
  
"By more goons?" Janyu asked.  
  
"That's hardly the way to talk about the person that saved your butt in  
biochemistry, Tao."  
  
Dolphin recovered first. "Dolly?"  
  
"That's Chief Inspector Deunan McReady to you. You," she indicated Janyu,  
"can call me Dolly."  
  
Janyu held a hand up. "Sorry, I'm married."  
  
Dolly sighed. "Curly will be crushed. Anyway, this is the part where I keep  
you all here and get your stories about why these children here found it  
necessary to storm a secret government installation with several unknown beings  
of unusual power." Everyone started to speak at once, but Dolly silenced them  
all. "Don't worry, Takato told me everything. I think your friend Yamaki is  
going on a little trip for a while. So why don't we get you home."  
  
==  
  
Yamaki rolled, dodging another fireball from Impmon. "I've waited years for  
this," Yamaki snarled, "and if I have to tear you apart with my bare hands, so  
much the better!"  
  
"Sez you!" Impmon snarled, hurling another fireball, this time at Yamaki's  
weapon. "There, I busted your little toy. Now it's your turn!" Yamaki  
rolled, grabbed his digivice, and swiped another card through it. The  
downgrade card tore into Impmon, who stopped short, wracked with pain.  
  
"FREEZE!" Two policemen came upon the two, covering them with their handguns.  
"Chief, I have Yamaki, and one other. Probably a Wild One."  
  
"Great, first you, now the cops!" Impmon shouted. "I'm outta here!" Impmon  
ran towards a stairwell. One of the cops ran after him, but lost the small  
digimon in the darkness (courtesy of several fireballs to the lights). The  
second officer was trying to restrain Yamaki.  
  
"Let me go! He's a murderer! They're all killers!" Yamaki screamed as he was  
dragged off.  
  
==  
  
Makuramon came to. "That creature had unusual attack powers." He looked  
around at the wreckage around him. "Time for Michael Ramone to make a return."  
Makuramon made a gesture, and became human again. It was a setback, not  
finding more out about that girl, but that was all right. His work on the  
Juggernaut program was essentially complete, he knew what form the Catalyst had  
taken, and no one could connect his true form with that of Michael Ramone. A  
Deva's work is almost done, he mused.  
  
==Nonaka home  
  
Everyone piled out of the collection of vehicles. Almost everyone, anyway.  
Dolly had gone with Takato to explain to his (now frantic) parents that Takato  
had been instrumental in finding Hitomi, and that getting his statement had  
taken a bit longer than expected, so could they please not ground him for the  
next decade or so?  
  
Rika led Hitomi over to the house; they had recovered her clothes from the  
Hypnos building, and Hitomi had gotten changed en route. When she saw Ms.  
Asaji again, Hitomi started crying, the full impact of the events of the last  
two days finally overwhelming her. Nami held Hitomi, just letting the girl cry  
herself out.  
  
Yuka put a hand on Nami's shoulder. "Why don't the two of you spend the night  
here? You can go home in the morning. I'll even let you borrow Rumiko's  
clothes, if you promise not to tell her." Yuka added, smiling.  
  
"Thanks." Nami nodded, holding the still crying Hitomi. Beside her, Eevee  
slumped down, also drained. Noctowl cawed loudly, celebrating the return of  
his trainer.  
  
==New Bark Town, next morning.  
  
Izzy finished his work. "I can't get a portal through yet," he said to  
himself, "but this should give us something. Please, reach her!"  
  
==Nonaka household, Rumiko's room.  
  
Hitomi, Eevee curled up beside her, was sound asleep on a small futon that  
Rika had pulled out for her. Nami was in the same room, sleeping on a small  
mat. There was a faint ringing noise, which woke Eevee up. He looked around,  
saw that the noise was coming from Hitomi's pokegear, still recharging itself.  
He padded over, pressed a button, and listened. After a second, he ran over,  
desperately trying to wake Hitomi up.  
  
"What is it?" Hitomi asked, blinking as the sunlight got in her eyes.  
  
"Pokegear. Now. Answer!" Eevee dragged Hitomi over to the phone. Curious,  
she picked it up.  
  
"Hello?" Hitomi asked, before being deafened by a loud scream from the other  
end. "Who is this?" she demanded. "Takato, is that you?"  
  
The scream stopped. "It's me...Izzy!"  
  
Next Episode  
  
While Yamaki waits for his superior's decision on the fate of Hypnos, he  
reflects on the events that have led him to this stage of his life. Unknown to  
him, Ryo reflects on his first few months in the digital world, how he managed  
to adapt to life in this new world, and how he was drawn into the War of the  
Sovereigns. Next time on Digicross Tamers:  
-'I remember the Earth' 


	14. Digicross Tamers 14 I remember the Earth

Akiyama Ryo looked up at the sky, quickly picking out Earth, where all the  
beams looking for data came from. "It's been years since I came here." he  
muttered, casting a glance at Cyberdramon, now asleep. "I wonder how  
everything's going up there."  
  
-----  
Digicross Tamers Episode 14  
'I remember the earth'  
-----  
  
Janyu Wong relaxed for the first time that day. He had been called in as a  
witness in an internal investigation of Hypnos in general, and Isao Akiyama  
a.k.a. Yamaki in particular. He had described what Yamaki had told him, how he  
had been detained and prevented from contacting his family, and how, in Janyu's  
opinion, Yamaki was, as Babel had put it, 'skipping without a rope.'  
  
But, all that was over now, and he was reunited with his family. Now, he was  
actually over at the Nonaka house, where Rika was giving Hitomi and Jeri a few  
pointers on how to use cards from the digimon game to power up their partner  
monsters in a battle. He watched, fascinated, as Hitomi used one card to  
create a set of wings on Eevee, while Jeri created a shield for Gabumon to  
defend himself with. "They're getting pretty good." Janyu said. "I still  
can't believe it, even with everything I've seen."  
  
Beside him, his son Henry nodded. "Well, Rika did win the Digimon Card Battle  
tournament last year. I can't think of anyone better to teach them how to use  
their D-Arcs. Especially after what happened."  
  
Janyu looked at Hitomi. "How is she doing?"  
  
Henry grimaced. "She's still pretty jumpy. She still gets nervous going into  
the park, even when one of us is around. And Eevee and Noctowl never let her  
out of their eyesight." Henry pointed out Noctowl.  
  
"Well, she won't have to worry much longer." Janyu adjusted his glasses.   
"After all the testimony, Mr. Yamaki's going to be gone for a good long time."  
  
"Rika! I'm home!" Rika's mother's voice floated into the back yard.  
  
"Everyone, hide!" Rika hissed, waving her arms. Renamon, Eevee, and Gabumon  
all ducked out of sight, as Rumiko Nonaka poked her head out the back door.  
  
"Oh, Rika, you're having friends over! Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Rika sighed. "I just wanted to show them how to play the card game, that's  
all."  
  
"Cards? That's no way for young ladies like yourselves to act. Come on, I  
bought this new dress, I know you'll just love it!"   
  
"*Mother*," Rika grumbled, "I don't. Like. Dresses."  
  
"Oh, come on, dear. It's you, I just know it is."  
  
Rika looked around, realizing her mother was not about to give up.   
"Ahh...Hitomi! She said she wanted to be a model! Why don't you try her  
first! She's been dying to try on something fancy!" Rika grabbed Hitomi, and  
dragged her over to her mother. "Please," Rika whispered to Hitomi, "it's the  
only way to stop her!"  
  
Rumiko looked at Hitomi. "Alright. You look like you'd fit in this dress.   
Come on, Hitomi, we'll have so much fun!" Rumiko dragged Hitomi into the house.  
  
"Not a word." Rika said to Henry.  
  
==Hypnos  
  
Yamaki leaned back, waiting for the verdict. He had been called in to explain  
his actions involving the Hypnos project, the development of Yuugoth and  
Juggernaut, and, more to the point, his recent actions involving one Hitomi  
Motomiya. He had a good idea what the result would be. He would 'disappear',  
and Hypnos, the project he had built, would be taken over by some spineless  
politician. Someone who had no idea how he had suffered...  
  
==2 years ago  
  
"Ryo? RYO!" Isao tore at the rubble that used to be his home, looking for  
any sign of his son. Beside him, Reilly looked, though it was apparent that  
she was beginning to lose hope. The battle between Cyberdramon, Gorillamon,  
and Impmon had destroyed the house, leaving only Isao and Reilly relatively  
unharmed.  
  
Soon, firefighters and police started to show up, and they dragged Isao away  
from the wreckage, so they could conduct a search, and take care of the small  
fires that had sprung up. However, before the police could come over and take  
statements, Isao was confronted by a man in a black suit. "Akiyama Isao?"   
Numbly, Isao nodded. "Please come with me."  
  
Isao was led over to an unmarked van, where more men in suits waited. "I know  
what you were about to tell the police, and that would have been a mistake."  
one of the suits said. "They would never have believed you, and would no doubt  
have locked you up, blaming you for the explosion."  
  
Isao looked up, anger returning in a flash. "I'd never have done that! It  
was those... monsters that did this! They took my son away!"  
  
Showing no emotion, the agent stood up. "Akiyama Isao. Widower, one son,  
Akiyama Ryo, currently employed as a computer consultant to the local Microsoft  
development team. Degrees in computer programming, system design, and advanced  
mathematics." He looked at Reilly, who had just been brought over. "Reilly  
Alison, also holding degrees in computer design and programming, worked for the  
SFPD as a consultant on computer crimes before you met Isao and Miaka Akiyama,  
then moved to Japan, where you work with the police in a similar fashion."  
  
"What's all this about?" Reilly demanded coldly. "Do you know what happened  
here? And where's Ryo?"  
  
The agent handed Reilly and Isao several pictures. "Did any of the monsters  
you saw resemble the ones in these photographs?" The two examined the photos,  
then handed them back.  
  
"That one looks a bit like the one...Monodramon, that was it." Reilly replied.  
Isao held onto one photo, face unreadable.  
  
"Those creatures we call 'digimon', as they all resemble creatures that can be  
found in a card game that's been popular." The agent explained. "However, we  
have been tracking the appearances of several such creatures over the last few  
months here, in the real world. Someone or something has created actual  
digimon and they are sending them here, for some unknown reason."  
  
"Why tell us this?" Isao asked, voice barely audible. Reilly looked at Isao,  
wondering at the emptiness in his voice.  
  
"We were going to approach you two in a few days, but this has sped things up.  
We're taking this...attack as an escalation. We want you to join a special  
government project to track down and figure out why these...things are  
appearing in this world."  
  
"To destroy them?" Isao asked.  
  
"Preferably, track and control them," the agent replied, "but that possibility  
must be considered too. At the very least, we could make it so nothing like  
this could happen again."  
  
Reilly glanced at Isao, all this information nearly overwhelming her. Then  
she stepped back, as Isao stood up.  
  
"I'll do it." he said coldly.  
  
==Digital world, about that time.  
  
Akiyama Ryo came to, rubbing his head. "What happened to me...Dad? Ms.  
Reilly? DAD!" Ryo sat up, wincing as he did. His wrist hurt; it was probably  
sprained. "Where am I? The last thing I remember was that fight, and...oh my  
god..." as he was speaking, he looked up, and saw Earth in the sky, multiple  
beams of energy coming from it. "What is this place?"  
  
"Are you alright?" a voice behind him asked. Swiveling around, he saw a small  
blue and white digimon he recognized immediately.  
  
"V...A Veemon?"  
  
"That's my name, don't wear it out!" Veemon replied cheerfully. "I don't  
recognize you. You wouldn't be from Gen-Bu, would you? I hear the digimon  
there are pretty wild."  
  
Ryo shook his head. "No, I...did you say digimon?" He looked up at the Earth  
again. "Am I in the digital world?"  
  
Veemon shrugged. "Sure you are. Where else do digimon live?"  
  
Ryo suddenly gasped. "Monodramon! Where is he?" Quickly, he described  
Monodramon to Veemon.   
  
"You've been here for about a day, I think." Veemon replied. "If there was a  
digimon with you, he probably left by now. Hey, you're a human, aren't you!   
Oh, WOW! Wait'll I tell the others!"  
  
"Others?"  
  
Veemon nodded. "Yeah. There's a whole village of Chuchidarumon nearby I was  
crashing at when we heard this big bang last night. I got up and set out right  
away! Well, I took a short nap along the way..."  
  
==Next Day  
  
Ryo sat at the table, still stunned. "I'm actually talking to real live  
digimon." he whispered, then he forced back a laugh when he heard one of the  
smaller digimon whisper that they couldn't believe they were talking to a real  
live human. "How did I get here? Do any of you know?"  
  
The elder Chuchidarumon shook his head. "We have never heard of a human  
coming here. There are legends of digimon searching for a way to get to your  
world, what we call the Real World, but that is all we have. Legends, that  
is." Outside, there was a small commotion. "We sent some of our stronger  
villagers to the wreckage, to see if we could salvage anything we thought might  
be of use to you. We do not know what you will need; they were instructed to  
bring back anything that looked salvageable." Ryo nodded, and went outside.  
  
What was there was a lot of stuff he would normally classify as garbage. Some  
clothes, useful; blanket, good; Computer, wrecked and not very useful;  
Digivice...wait. Ryo looked around the salvaged items, and found a shoebox.   
Opening it, he found the rest of his Digimon cards, somewhat mixed up. "I  
wonder where Monodramon went?"  
  
"We saw some tracks going from the wreckage." one of the Chuchidarumon said.   
"But we didn't follow them, they were kind of big."  
  
He couldn't have stayed as Cyberdramon, could he, Ryo wondered. "I'd better  
go find him. He might be my ticket to getting back home."  
  
The Chuchidarumon elder nodded. "Of course. Please feel free to stop by any  
time you wish. We will always welcome you here."  
  
Ryo nodded. "Thank you. And thanks for taking care of my arm." He held up  
his left arm, the wrist covered by bandages and having a hard metal plate on  
the top.  
  
"It was nothing." The elder replied.  
  
"Wait for me!" Veemon said, hopping up. "I know this place a bit, I'll guide  
you around."  
  
Ryo smiled at that. "Should I call you Zero?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
==Hypnos HQ, still under construction  
  
Isao looked over the central room. "All this?"  
  
The agent beside him nodded. "It's a secret facility designed to keep tabs on  
data and information transmission on a worldwide scope. However, we noticed  
some unusual signals coming from a layer of the internet that's rarely accessed  
these days."  
  
Reilly, standing beside Isao, looked over a sheaf of printouts the agent  
handed them. "This looks like some sort of machine code. But I can't identify  
what it would do; it looks very complex."  
  
"It is." the agent replied, nodding. "Shortly after we started picking up  
these signals, reports of monster sightings began. There seems to be a  
correlation between this code and the appearance of these monsters."  
  
"Are you telling me that a computer program destroyed my house and killed my  
son?" Yamaki asked quietly.  
  
"Essentially true, if oversimplified. Somehow, some form of intelligence that  
can be sourced to the Internet is generating these digimon and sending them  
here. We've tried deleting it, but we can't access the code that these things  
seem to come from. Short of dismantling the entire Internet, we don't know  
what to do." The agent shrugged.  
  
"If these...things are comprised of computer code, then we can use that code  
to design a way of destroying them." Isao said. "What we need are samples to  
work with. What do we have?"  
  
"None. By the time we can get someone there, whatever came through has gone."  
  
"Fog." Reilly said suddenly. "When those digimon appeared at our house, there  
was some sort of fog all around us. But it didn't feel cold or damp."  
  
"We think it's a side effect of the digimon emerging into this world. We call  
it 'realization' or 'bio emergence', take your pick."  
  
Isao took out his digivice. "What about this? It came from a card reader  
after I passed a card through it. Ryo had one too, and it appeared in the  
same way, though he used a blue card. It had some sort of holographic symbol  
on the front, and a grey stripe along the side."  
  
The agent took the digivice. "I've never seen anything like it. Do you think  
it's connected?"  
  
"Ryo passed a card through it after it changed, and the digimon on the card  
appeared." Reilly said. As she spoke, the device started blinking, emitting a  
quiet beeping noise. On the screen, an arrow appeared, spinning around before  
pointing straight ahead.  
  
One of the technicians, working on a console, spoke up. "We just got word of  
a monster appearing nearby!"  
  
==Digital World  
  
Ryo kept walking along, looking around at the world he was now in. "So, Zero,  
is there a way home?"  
  
Veemon looked up. "Not that I know of. Of course, I never tried. And why  
are you calling me Zero?"  
  
Ryo smiled. "Back home, there's a story about a boy who's taken to the  
digital world and meets a digimon he called Zero. I guess I'll never find out  
if they make it back. I wonder if Taichi ever got homesick, they never seemed  
to mention it in the manga."  
  
"Oh? Humans have come here before?" Veemon asked.  
  
"No, it was just a story. How long have we been walking? I don't feel hungry  
or thirsty."  
  
"You're data like us now." Veemon replied. "You don't have to eat unless you  
want to, or drink! You still build up a bit of a waistline, though. I don't  
know how that applies to humans though."  
  
"That's good to know." Ryo replied. "Though I'd love to get a hamburger  
sometime."  
  
"Hasn't been a good burger here since the Burgermon family packed up and moved  
to the lower levels."  
  
"Burgermon? That sounds like some sort of silly marketing thing."  
  
Veemon shrugged. "Hey, you humans put the data in. We just adapt to it the  
best we can."  
  
Ryo shrugged. "Maybe we should have put a few more exit commands in. What  
are those beams from the Real World? They look like they come near here."  
  
"Some of them do. When you step in one, you get transported to a random part  
of the digital world."  
  
Mentally, Ryo crossed that idea off. "So, what's it like here?"  
  
Veemon shrugged. "There's a lot of fighting; loading data is the only way  
digimon can get stronger, the only way they can digivolve. It's a tough place  
if you're not careful." Ryo grimaced.  
  
==Real World  
  
Isao hopped out of the small van that had been assigned to Hypnos, following  
several agents that piled out as well. In his hand, the small digivice kept  
blinking, arrow pointing straight ahead. Filled with anticipation, he ran  
ahead of the other agents, the beeping from his digivice getting louder.  
  
On rounding the corner, he found the digimon it had detected. It looked like  
a small cartoon mouse, pink fur, a paranoid look on its face. "You're not the  
one." Isao muttered.  
  
"M...me?" Chuumon replied. "I just came looking for something to eat, that's  
all!"  
  
The other agents caught up. "Step away, we don't know what that thing might  
turn into!" one of them said to Isao.  
  
"AHH!" Chuumon screamed. As he did, he glowed, and changed shape.   
Digivolving, Isao thought. That's what Ryo called it. This one changed into  
what looked like a wizened old man, still comically short.  
  
Bomber Nanimon brandished an explosive. "You'll never get me!" he yelled.   
"You'll never stop me from doing what I was sent here to do!" The digimon  
hurled the explosive at the agents, who all scattered. The explosion was no  
larger than a small firecracker, but it got Bomber Nanimon's point across.  
  
"This is what digimon do!" Impmon's voice echoed in the back of Isao's mind.   
Snarling, he picked up a rock and hurled it at Bomber Nanimon, catching the  
digimon on the head. The rock bounced off, dazing it, and Isao leaped forward,  
fingers wrapped around its throat. Isao got a knee to the gut, and was hurled  
back by another explosive device, injuring him. Two agents stepped up, firing  
dart guns. Bomber Nanimon dropped.  
  
"Are you alright?" an agent asked, helping Isao up. "No offense, but that was  
foolish. He could have...DUCK!" Isao was knocked over as another bomb went  
off, and Bomber Nanimon got up, summoning another bomb. Looking, Isao saw that  
two of the agents were unconscious and bleeding heavily.  
  
"This ends NOW!" he snatched a dart gun that one of the agents had dropped,  
aimed, and fired at the bomb that the digimon had just summoned. The dart hit,  
the bomb exploded, and Bomber Nanimon howled as his body was torn apart by the  
blast.  
  
"Nice shot." the agent muttered, watching the digimon disintegrate. "Hey, up  
there!"  
  
Isao looked up, and saw a small digimon that he recognized instantly. As he  
watched, the particles from Bomber Nanimon's corpse flew up and were absorbed  
into Impmon's body. Suddenly, Isao recovered, raised his gun, and started  
firing. Impmon jumped off the ledge and fled, a mocking "thanks for the pick-  
me-up!" floating down to him.  
  
==  
  
The director looked at the report the agent filed, then at Isao. "Your  
impressions?"  
  
"They don't care about humans." Isao replied. "These digimon only care about  
increasing their own strength, regardless of the damage their little wars  
cause. That war took my son and my life away. I want to stay on and help."  
  
The director nodded. "Ms. Reilly said the same thing."  
  
==  
  
In another part of the Hypnos HQ, Reilly looked over a final set of papers.   
"So, I just sign here?" she asked. "No secret name or new identity?"  
  
The agent shrugged. "It's up to you. This is a secret organization, so we do  
expect you to remain...discrete. These are just the standard secrecy and non-  
disclosure forms. We don't take away your identity until your first year's  
done." Another shrug. "Sorry, small joke."  
  
"Very small." Reilly replied. "Will I be working with anyone?"  
  
"Reilly?" a figure asked. She was short, had blonde hair...  
  
"Talli?" Reilly gasped.  
  
"Reilly! I can't believe it's you! Oh, I heard about what happened, I'm so  
sorry.."  
  
"Umm...Ms. Reilly, this is your partner, but I see you already know each  
other..." the agent stepped away, deciding not to interfere with the reunion.  
  
"What are you doing here, Talli?" Reilly asked. "I thought you were going to  
teach programming at Tokyo University."  
  
Talli shook her head. "I got headhunted for this assignment. They said they  
needed expert computer technicians, and naturally, my name came up. I guess  
you got hired that way too?"   
Reilly shook her head, and related what had happened to Ryo. "That's...I  
can't believe it..." Talli gasped. "How's Isao?"  
  
"Still numb, I think. It's either that or just...rage, I think."  
  
==Digital World  
  
The trip was long, but they finally made it back to the wreckage. "Nothing."  
Ryo said, depressed. "I'd hoped that I might find something, a clue..." He  
trailed off as a piece of the rubble shifted, revealing Cyberdramon, getting  
up. The digimon growled, looking at Ryo. "Cyberdramon? It's me, Ryo! You  
remember?" This was a lot easier on TV, Ryo thought to himself.  
  
"Ryo..." Cyberdramon growled. Ryo wished the digimon had eyes; he couldn't  
tell what mood Cyberdramon was in. Cyberdramon stood up, flexing his arms.   
Then he locked on Veemon, snarling.  
  
"Cyberdramon!" Ryo shouted. "No! He's a friend!"  
  
"Data..." Cyberdramon growled. Veemon gulped, hiding behind Ryo. "Must  
fight." Ryo stood there, trying to stare Cyberdramon down. Finally, the  
dragon digimon snarled, and flew off, back the way Ryo and Veemon had come.  
  
"Where's he going?" Ryo wondered, confused.  
  
Veemon's eyes widened. "The Chuchidarumon village! He must be looking for  
more data to absorb!" Ryo's eyes widened, and the two immediately ran after  
the flying digimon, who was already vanishing into the distance.  
  
==  
  
When Ryo and Veemon got there, they found Cyberdramon had already devastated  
half of the village. Cyberdramon howled as he tore another home apart,  
revealing the two small Chuchidarumon who lived there. "STOP!" Ryo yelled.   
"They're just children!" Cyberdramon snarled, ignoring Ryo.  
  
"Let me do it! V-Headbutt!" Veemon slammed into Cyberdramon. Cyberdramon  
snarled again, grabbed Veemon, and hurled him away.  
  
"How can I get through to him...?" Ryo wondered. Then his hand touched his  
digivice. "When Monodramon evolved into Cyberdramon, it was because I used a  
card on this digivice. Maybe..." Ryo pulled out a card, hoping for the best.   
"Downgrade! Activate!"  
  
The effect was immediate. Cyberdramon stopped in his tracks, writhing in  
pain. For a second, Ryo thought Cyberdramon would revert to Monodramon, but  
that hope faded as the berserk digimon shook off the effects of the card.   
Roaring, he charged Ryo!  
  
Quickly, Ryo dodged the charge. "I'm glad he didn't use his Erase Claw." he  
muttered, wondering how a digital attack would affect a human, and deciding he  
didn't want to find out right now. He clutched his digivice even tighter,  
wishing he had a way to control Cyberdramon.   
  
Suddenly, the digivice hummed slightly, then shot out a beam of light,  
wrapping around Cyberdramon. "Wha?" Ryo gasped, wondering what was happening.   
Cyberdramon clawed at the beam of light, wrapped around his torso and neck now.  
"Some kind of leash?" Cyberdramon turned, trying to launch an attack on Ryo.   
"Stop it NOW!" Ryo ordered, feeling a pulse of energy flow through his  
digivice. Cyberdramon snarled, but subsided. Ryo relaxed, and the energy beam  
dissipated. "I'm glad that's over."  
  
Suddenly, Cyberdramon jumped at Ryo, claws extended. Ryo flinched, unprepared  
for the sudden attack. There was a loud splattering sound, and a loud crash.   
Ryo opened his eyes, and saw Cyberdramon, covered in mud and apparently  
unconscious.  
  
==  
  
"I am sorry about this, but I fear there is no other way." the Chuchidarumon  
elder said to Ryo. "Cyberdramon cannot stay here, and he is too powerful to  
destroy."  
  
"I understand." Ryo replied. "Until I can find a way to calm Cyberdramon  
down, there's no way I can go back home. Letting him loose on the digital  
world like this would be nothing short of murder."  
  
"It is said that when a digimon evolves too quickly, his mind can become  
unhinged by all the power flowing through it." the elder said. "It may be that  
his mind will adjust naturally. To the north lies the realm of the Digimon  
Sovereign. The Devas there may have the answers you seek."  
  
"Devas?" Ryo asked.  
  
"They're powerful digimon that serve the four oldest digimon in the digital  
world." Veemon answered. "Come on, I'll take you there!"  
  
Ryo looked back at Cyberdramon, tied up and on a sled. "He's not going to be  
too happy when he wakes up."  
  
Veemon looked unconcerned. "Hey, you can tame him, right? Besides, you need  
someone to show you around here."  
  
Ryo smirked. "Alright. Lead on, Zero."  
  
==Hypnos, present  
  
Yamaki stood in the director's office, waiting for the final decision to be  
handed down. "I've reviewed all the data about you and the...incident." the  
director said. "I am in a bit of a quandary about how to proceed. You are a  
brilliant programmer, and your insights have made possible some of Hypnos'  
greatest advances in detecting and controlling Wild Ones. But at the same  
time, your recent actions show you to be a bit...unstable. You are too  
dangerous to let loose, and arresting you would create too much publicity,  
especially if Ms. Motomiya were to find out."  
  
"So, then?" Yamaki asked.  
  
"It is my opinion that you need psychiatric help, Yama...rather, Mr. Akiyama.   
You've let the death of your son turn this project into a personal crusade.   
I'm assigning you to a psychiatric examiner for a period of six months. If it  
is determined that you cannot be rehabilitated, you will be transferred  
to...someplace else."  
  
"Meaning I'll vanish."  
  
The director sighed. "Meaning I'm trying to help you out here. You're  
brilliant, but you never properly dealt with Ryo's death. I need someone who  
can monitor and respond to threats raised by these digimon, not a crusader who  
kidnaps children and tries to dissect them and their pets."  
  
"My report-" Yamaki started.  
  
"Your report went on about children from other dimensions and hybrid digimon,  
Isao." the director said, using Yamaki's real name for effect. "There are  
people who'd rather see you sent to a prison for the rest of your life. Let me  
help you. Take the time off, clear all your issues up, then come back. I can  
probably sweep this all under the rug."  
  
Yamaki frowned, but nodded. "Very well. What will happen to Hypnos?"  
  
"It will be taken care of. That is all."  
  
==Nonaka residence  
  
Kenta readjusted his position. Right now, he was standing up on several  
poorly stacked garbage cans, trying to look into the back yard where the  
digimon were practicing.  
  
"I see we have company." Janyu whispered to Henry.  
  
Henry glanced over. "It's just Kenta." he said. "He's pretty harmless, as  
long as Kazu isn't around. He already knows about the digimon here." The two  
watched as Gabumon made a few practice attacks against Renamon. Eevee took the  
opportunity to rest up; Hitomi hadn't returned yet.  
  
"What is taking them so long?" Rika wondered. She was about to go on when her  
mother and Hitomi stepped out. Gabumon, Renamon, and Eevee quickly hid.  
  
The dress Hitomi was wearing was pink and frilly, as Rika had feared.   
However, the design and colour complemented Hitomi quite nicely. Even if  
Hitomi was blushing fiercely at the moment.  
  
"Head up dear," Rumiko whispered to Hitomi, "and don't blush so much, you've  
got nothing to be ashamed of." In a louder voice, she said "Doesn't she look  
lovely, Rika?"  
  
"Uhh, yeah." Rika answered.  
  
"Wow." Henry breathed. He head the sound of something falling over. Kenta,  
he guessed.  
  
"Hitomi," Jeri whispered, "that looks perfect on you!" She missed the look  
Rika shot her.  
  
Rumiko nodded. "You're right, Jeri. Hitomi, why don't you keep it?"  
  
"But...I thought you got this for Rika..." Hitomi stammered.  
  
"Oh, nonsense." Rumiko replied. "It looks nice on you, and I'd be so happy to  
see this dress on someone who appreciates it." she said, casting a look at Rika.  
  
Ouch, Henry thought. "Well, school photos are coming up."  
  
"They are?" Rumiko asked, excited. "That's perfect then! Hitomi, you must  
send me a picture, you'll be the envy of everyone at school."  
  
Why me? Rika wondered.  
  
Next Episode  
  
Appointed the new head of Hypnos, Reilly decides to work with the tamers,  
trying to enlist their help in handling the appearance of digimon. How well  
will this plan work when two digimon appear in the middle of Tokyo? Next time  
on Digicross Tamers, episode 15:   
'Hypnos' new chief.' 


	15. Digicross Tamers 15 Hypnos' new chief

"Talli, please." Reilly begged. "We need you there." Talli said nothing, taking another sip of iced tea. She had come to hear Reilly's offer to return to Hypnos, not sure why she hadn't told Reilly what to do with her offer. "Yamaki's not in charge anymore. The government has had him transferred to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation."  
  
"Oh?" Talli asked. "Who's in charge now?"  
  
"Me." Reilly replied.  
  
"Well, congratulations." Talli replied acidly, ignoring Reilly's flinch at her tone. "Do you really think I could just come back after what you did to that poor little girl?"  
  
Reilly frowned. "How many times do I have to apologize for that? And who do you think let you, Henry, and Rika in without alerting the security teams?"  
  
"Then I guess we're even."  
  
Reilly fought back the urge to scream. Truth be told, she still felt miserable about what she did, and what she helped Yamaki do, to Hitomi Motomiya. "Talli, I'm begging you. I'm sorry about what happened, but I can't change what happened. You're my best friend, and one of the best programmers out there. Please come back. You're second to me in seniority at Hypnos, you'll be second in command there."  
  
Talli looked up. Reilly did look sincere, and the two had been friends since Reilly had moved to Tokyo several years back. "Alright. I'll come back."  
  
--------------  
Digicross Tamers episode 15  
'Hypnos' new chief.'  
--------------  
  
==Downtown Tokyo, later that night  
  
The Wong family made their way through the apartment building, trying to track down a the home of Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy and his family. "He never could give good directions." Janyu grumbled. "This is the third place we've checked."  
  
"Now, dear," Meilin Wong said, "you know that he didn't mean to do that. It's just the way he is, that's all."  
  
"Well, I hope we get there soon. I think Suzie's getting a little bored of the whole thing." Janyu cast a glance back at his daughter, who was looking around, face glum.  
  
Meilin shrugged. "Maybe we should have let her bring that rabbit doll she likes so much."  
  
Henry, walking behind Suzie, suppressed a shudder. "Mom, you know she'd lose it."  
  
"Hey down there!" Robert called from an open doorway. "About time!"  
  
"Next time, have Anita give the directions!" Janyu replied, running up. "We went through two different buildings before we got here."  
  
"It's not my fault that you can't follow directions." Robert replied calmly. "If you'd read them the right way, you could have avoided all this." He leaned over, stage-whispering to Meilin, Henry, and Suzie. "You should have seen him in college. He couldn't find the student lounge if you painted arrows on the floor. Come on in! Alice! Company's here."  
  
"Little Alice?" Meilin asked. "I haven't seen her in years! How is she? And where's Kenny?"  
  
"Kenny's visiting his uncle in America. And Alice has...changed...Ah, here she is." Alice stepped into the entry hall, not saying anything. She was dressed all in black, and had a silver crucifix hanging from a thin chain around her neck. Her face was hard to read, as if she was keeping all her emotions in check.  
  
Suzie stared wide-eyed at Alice. "You're really pretty." she breathed.   
  
Blinking, Alice glanced at Suzie, then at her father. That wasn't the normal response she got. "Um...thank you?"  
  
Suzie smiled. "But wouldn't you look better in pink?" Everyone else facefaulted.  
  
"Has she been talking to Terriermon?" Janyu asked Henry quietly.  
  
"Not that I know of. I'll ask him when we get home." Henry replied.  
  
==Asaji home, about the same time.  
  
"Nonsense," Nami said to Hitomi, "I think you'll look lovely in it tomorrow."  
  
Hitomi eyed the dress uneasily. School photos were scheduled for tomorrow, and Nami had suggested Hitomi wear the dress that Rika's mother had given her. "Isn't it a little too much for a school photograph?"  
  
"You can never look too nice for such a thing." Nami replied. "A lot of the girls in your class are going to find their best clothes for this. You can just wear your normal school outfit, and change when it's time for your photograph to be taken."  
  
"Hey, relax." Eevee added. "You'll blow them out of the water. You sure did a job on Kenta the other day."  
  
Nami looked up. "Kenta?"  
  
Eevee nodded. "He was watching while we were practising at Rika's place. I figured he wasn't a threat as long as Kazu wasn't there."  
  
Nami grinned. "The principal kept Kazu after class for throwing doughnuts in the pool."  
  
Eevee sighed. "Figures. Anyway, Rika's mom comes out and asks Rika to try on a new dress. Somehow, Hitomi got pulled in."  
  
"Well, she did ask nicely." Hitomi said, blushing.  
  
Eevee smirked. "You should have seen her when she came out. Her face matched the colour of the dress. Rika's mom was so impressed with how it looked on her, she decided to let Hitomi keep it."  
  
"Well, that was nice of her." Nami said. "Trust me, you'll look lovely tomorrow. We can keep the dress with my things in the teacher's lounge. That's what I'm doing with the other girls' dresses tomorrow as well. Now you'd better wash up, dinner's going to be ready soon."  
  
There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Hitomi said, walking over to the door. She opened the door. "Who is...." she gasped, stepping back. Eevee looked up, saw who it was, and quickly moved between Hitomi and the newcomer, growling fiercely. Nami looked up, grabbed Noctowl's pokeball, ready to release the bird if need be.  
  
"C...Can I come in?" Reilly asked.  
  
==5 minutes later  
  
"You're kidding." Nami said quietly. Hitomi had remained silent, Eevee placing himself between his trainer and the Hypnos agent.  
  
Reilly sighed. "Look, things have changed, Hypnos doesn't want to harm any of the digimon or their partners."  
  
"I beg to differ." Eevee snarled.  
  
Reilly flinched, taken aback by the rage in Eevee's voice. "It has changed. Digimon are still appearing in Tokyo, and we want to find out why. Yamaki did cross the line, yes. Did I do anything to stop him? No. I should have, but I didn't. I want to start making up for that right now."  
  
"How?" Nami asked.  
  
"Hypnos was formed with the goal of determining the threat that digimon posed to this world. Mr. Yamaki...no, Isao Akiyama turned that into a personal vendetta against digimon. He blames all digimon for the death of his son, Ryo."  
  
"I'm sorry for your loss." Nami replied evenly. "But that doesn't make up for what you put Hitomi through."  
  
"No, it doesn't. But I want to put Hypnos back on the course it was originally intended to take; a means of detecting and isolating digimon before they can damage the city. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Hypnos would like to hire the tamers?"  
  
"Oh, that's too rich." Eevee said. "Tell me, what did you have in mind for isolating digimon? Was it-"  
  
"Eevee." Hitomi whispered. "Wait."  
  
"Hire them?" Nami asked, incredulous. "They're just kids!"  
  
"Kids that have had the most success in dealing with digimon appearing here in Tokyo. We can detect digimon appearing, but there's nothing we can do beyond that. I plan on approaching all the tamers, and all the monster makers, too. That includes Mr. Wong. Just think about it, OK?" Reilly left.  
  
"Well?" Eevee asked Hitomi.  
  
"She wasn't lying." Hitomi answered. "I think she was serious."  
  
"You mean...No, I won't allow it! Who knows what they might do!"  
  
"I got to go with Ms. Asaji." Eevee said. "I know you have a good sense about these things, but I don't trust them. Even if Henry's dad is working with them."  
  
"Why don't we talk to Mr. Wong tomorrow, after school?" Hitomi asked. "He might know a bit more about how Hypnos has changed."  
  
Nami relented. "Alright. I just don't want you to get hurt."  
  
Hitomi smiled. "I'll be careful."  
  
==McCoy apartment  
  
"So, that's the situation." Janyu finished. He and Henry had spoken to Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy for about half an hour, filling them in on digimon, what had happened at Hypnos, and, after some persuasion, Hitomi's story. "I know it's a lot to take."  
  
"That kid? Yeah, a bit." Dolphin replied.  
  
"It's true." Henry insisted. "That's why Hypnos was so interested in her and Eevee."  
  
"Hypnos, yeah. So, what about our friendly government conspiracy?" Dolphin asked.  
  
Janyu grimaced. "Actually, I got a call from Reilly today. Yamaki was transfered out of Hypnos, and sent to a head-shrinker for evaluation. He'll probably get buried away somewhere. But now, Reilly's in charge, and she wants to hire us and the kids."  
  
Dolphin blinked. "The kids?"  
  
Henry nodded. "All of the tamers, according to her. She said we're the only ones that can handle the digimon that appear here."  
  
"You don't sound convinced." Dolphin observed.  
  
"Well, I don't like the idea of being a hired gun. Especially for Hypnos."  
  
"Even if I'm there?" Janyu asked.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Tao?"  
  
"Reilly made a good point. And I think we can use the resources at Hypnos to help Hitomi get home; they have the best computer network I've ever seen. And, well, it may be good to keep them close. Especially with Dolly keeping an eye on Hypnos; I talked to her just after I talked to Reilly."  
  
Henry nodded. "Well, if you're there. But convincing Ms. Asaji is going to be tough."  
  
"Daddy!" Suzie yelled, running into the living room. "Alice is such a neat person! I wanna be just like her when I grow up!" Alice, standing in the hallway, shrugged helplessly.   
  
Henry shook off the image of 'Goth Suzie', and returned the gesture. "Yes, she's like this at home, too." he said to Alice. "Suzie, don't run around like that!"  
  
"But it's so nice here!" Suzie replied. "I want to see everything! Like what's behind this door!"   
  
"Uh, Suzie, no..." Robert and Alice said, standing up. Too late.  
  
"Puppy!" Suzie shouted.  
  
"Huh? They gone yet?" the dog asked, looking confusedly.  
  
Henry checked his digivice. Yep, it was flashing softly. Dobermon, the screen said. Champion level digimon, vaccine type. "Mr. McCoy...?"  
  
Alice sighed, holding out her digivice too. In a bizarre twist, it had a pink ring around the screen, but otherwise resembled Henry's digivice. "Everyone, this is Dobermon..."  
  
"A friend for Terriermon!" Suzie cheered. "Hooray!"  
  
"Henry..." Janyu said, looking faint.  
  
"Moumantai." Henry replied, wondering which god he had insulted.  
  
==  
  
"Matsuki residence...Oh, hello Jeri. Alright, I'll get him. Takato!"  
  
"Coming mom!" Takato yelled, running down the stairs. "Who is it?"  
  
"It's Jeri. She said she wanted to talk to you about something important."  
  
Takato scratched his head. "Oh, uh...thanks mom."  
  
"Just remember, you have to be home by 8:00."  
  
"Yeah I...HEY!" Grinning, Takato's mother left the room. "Jeri? What's up?"  
  
"Takato!" Jeri said over the phone." I just got a call from Hitomi! Hypnos wanted to hire us!"  
  
"GWAAH?"  
  
==Next Day  
  
"So now what?" Takato asked. All of the Tamers had met in Ms. Asaji's classroom. "Should we trust them? I mean, they already know who we are."  
  
"I think we can trust them." Henry replied. "Dad's there, and Mr. McCoy's daughter is a tamer too."  
  
Nami blinked. "Another tamer?"  
  
Henry nodded. "Alice McCoy. She goes to another school. She met her partner Dobermon a few months ago."  
  
Hitomi shuddered. "I wonder if this means something bad is about to happen."  
  
"Relax." Takato said. "That sort of stuff only happens on TV. I mean, just because digimon start showing up here and everyone starts becoming a tamer doesn't mean that the Dark Masters are going to...ah nuts." he trailed off as Hitomi gave him her version of June's 'are you TRYING not to think?' look. "Never mind."  
  
"Hey, has Gabumon said anything?" Henry asked Jeri. "He came here pretty recently."  
  
Jeri shook her head. "No, he never wants to talk about it. I...didn't think I should push him too hard about it."  
  
"It's probably for the best." Nami cut in. "I'm sure there's nothing happening in the Digital World that we have to worry about. Maybe all those digimon that are appearing are just looking to find partners, or to get stronger." She subtly nudged Hitomi before she could add to that. "And I think we're getting sidetracked."  
  
"Perhaps we should hear them out." Jeri said. "I mean, if we're all there, and Henry's dad is too, and that lady that helped us get into Hypnos is working there too, there's not much that can happen, right?"  
  
"I guess." Nami admitted. "So you'll all go Friday after school?" Everyone agreed, and the all the tamers except Hitomi left the room. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"It's just that...when the first digidestined appeared in my world, it was because something terrible was about to happen. For Aunt Kari and the other original digidestined, it was because the Dark Masters were trying to take over. Ryo and Ken became digidestined because Milleniumon was going to attack the other digidestined. And mom and dad became digidestined when the Dark Ocean tried to take over the digital world. If something like that is happening here..."  
  
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Nami repeated.  
  
Hitomi nodded, unwilling to say Nami was not being truthful. Hitomi knew Nami was as scared as she was.  
  
==Friday.  
  
Hitomi left the school, walking home with Ms. Asaji. "See?" the teacher asked. "You looked lovely today."  
  
"I guess." Hitomi admitted, carrying the dress in a large plastic bag.  
  
"Kenta seemed to think so." Eevee snickered.  
  
"None of that." Nami said to Eevee. "I hope you didn't mind me setting up that extra shot with just you and me." Hitomi shook her head. "Good. I just...wanted something to remember you, when you finally go home."  
  
Hitomi stopped. "I...I hadn't thought that far ahead."  
  
Nami smiled gently. "I'm sure the portal will stay open, and we can visit each other any time we like. I just...I really enjoy having you here. Besides," she added, "we can't keep Hiroki waiting for you, can we?"  
  
"Eevee!" Hitomi gasped. "You promised!"  
  
"She's very persuasive." Eevee countered. "Besides, I promised nothing."  
  
Hitomi groaned, blushing as she did. She looked up, and caught sight of the Hypnos towers, glinting in the sunlight.  
  
Nami looked up, seeing the same thing. "It's not too late. We can just go home and forget the whole thing. Everyone will understand."  
  
"No." Hitomi answered. "Everyone else will be there, I should go too. And I think Henry said that the Monster Makers had something for me, too."  
  
"Alright." Nami replied, unconvinced. "I just don't want to lose you again. I...you mean a lot to me."  
  
"You mean a lot to me, too." Hitomi answered.  
  
Eevee sighed. "It's a Kodak moment." he muttered.  
  
==  
  
"Hey, you made it!" Takato said as Hitomi walked up, Eevee and Noctowl with her. All the other Tamers, except for Alice, were there. "Well, I guess we go in."  
  
"Brilliant plan, goggle head." Rika muttered. "You know this could be a trap."  
  
"Then why'd you come?" Takato replied.  
  
"Someone has to haul your butt out of the fire." Rika answered. Renamon nodded slightly, but said nothing.  
  
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Terriermon interrupted. "Henry's dad is practically running the place. Including the payroll system, from what I hear."  
  
"Terriermon." Henry scolded, shaking his head. "Let's go, they're all waiting for us."  
  
Hitomi looked up at the towers, still a bit uneasy. Jeri walked over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "We'll be fine, don't worry. Gabumon will make sure nothing happens, right?"  
  
Gabumon nodded. "I will not permit anything to happen to either Jeri or to you, Hitomi."  
  
Hitomi smiled. "Thank you." She went in, Jeri walking alongside her.  
  
The group went up a flight of stairs, and met Janyu on the way. "What Hypnos wants to do, now anyway, is to keep track of digimon that appear in the city, and prevent them from wrecking wherever they show up. So far, Hypnos can track digimon, but you kids are the only ones that have been able to fight these digimon effectively." Janyu led them to a large elevator, big enough for everyone to fit into.  
  
Gabumon nodded. "We can sense when digimon appear, and in what direction they are. That sense is stronger here, but I think that's because there are so few digimon that are actually here."  
  
Janyu looked at Gabumon. "How many digimon are in the digital world?"  
  
"How many humans are in this world?" Terriermon answered. "We've got more space to play with in the digital world than here."  
  
Janyu frowned. "That's not good. If someone over there decides to have a mass exodus, we could wind up hip deep in digimon."  
  
"What's an exodus?" Guilmon asked. Takato sighed, shaking his head.  
  
"What do you want us to do, then?" Rika asked, still a bit suspicious.  
  
Janyu shrugged. "Basically, what you've been doing to this point. All we would do is keep track of digimon appearing here, and act as a central headquarters for you." Janyu glanced at Takato out of the corner of his eye. "No, you won't be cutting school to battle digimon."  
  
"Ah nuts." Takato muttered.  
  
"Do we get bread?" Guilmon asked  
  
"They don't have the budget to cover your stomach." Terriermon joked, getting a laugh out of everyone there.  
  
"We'll see what we can do." Janyu answered, shaking his head at Guilmon. Takato shrugged helplessly. The elevator chimed, and the doors opened, letting everone step into the Scanning Room.  
  
"What is this place?" Jeri asked.  
  
"They really do have a super digimon detector!" Takato gasped. Henry smacked his forehead.  
  
"You could call it that." Talli said, walking over. "Welcome to Hypnos. I'll give you the grand tour of the place."  
  
"Can we start at the kitchen?" Guilmon asked.  
  
==  
  
About an hour later, the tour finished. Hitomi felt a bit more relaxed now, having seen how this secret government project was run. "You OK, kid?" Eevee asked. Hitomi nodded. "Good. I'm still a bit edgy about being here, but if you trust what Reilly said, that's good enough for me."  
  
"Eevee..."  
  
Eevee shook his head. "I mean it. I'm responsible for keeping you out of trouble, and I've done a lousy job of it up until now. What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry, I should have fought harder when those thugs jumped us."  
  
"It's me who should apologize." Reilly said, stepping out of an office. "Can I talk to you and Eevee alone for a few minutes?"  
  
Hitomi looked over her shoulder. Rika and Renamon were there, tensed up and waiting for Hitomi's reaction. She knew that the other tamers were not far away. "A-Alright." she said, stepping into the office. Reilly led Hitomi to a chair, let her sit down, and sat behind a large desk.  
  
"Hitomi, I know you can never forgive me for what happened. It was inexcusable, what Mr. Yamaki and I did to you  
and Eevee. But, for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Hitomi nodded, as did Eevee, though the pokemon was a bit more hesitant about it. "After losing Ryo to a digimon, I think Mr. Yamaki let revenge cloud his judgement. And I let myself get dragged along with him."  
  
Rika, who had been listening in, stepped in the office. "Excuse me, did you say...Ryo? As in Ryo Akiyama?"  
  
Hitomi glanced at Reilly, confused. "Akiyama?"  
  
Reilly nodded. "Yes, that was...you were the one at the tournament." Reilly gasped, recognizing Rika. "It happened just after Ryo won. We were coming home, and this man dropped a blue card that turned Ryo's card reader into a digivice, like the ones you carry now."  
  
Rika stepped back, stunned. "I found a blue card too; someone dropped a booster pack with it in it."  
  
"Takato said Guilmon appeared after he found a blue card and used it on his card reader too." Hitomi said. "Who makes those cards?"  
  
"Bandai; they control the whole digimon franchise." Reilly replied. Smiling wryly, she added, "I wonder how they'd react if they knew digimon were real? Well, we have something to look into now. If we can find another of these blue cards, we may have a clue as to why digimon are appearing."  
  
Rika glanced at the wall clock. "I'd better get going. Are you going to be alright, Hitomi?"   
  
"Yes. Thanks." Rika shrugged, and left, Renamon disappearing into the shadows. "I guess I should get going too."  
  
"Before you do..." Reilly said, getting something out of her desk. "Ms Asaji told me about where you came from. Mr. Wong and Talli did some work, and they made this for you." Reilly handed over several small items. Looking at them, Hitomi saw that they included a birth certificate, passport, and a few other pieces of identification. "You are now officially a citizen of Japan, with Ms. Asaji listed as your legal guardian."  
  
"How..." Hitomi gasped.  
  
"Well, Hypnos does have access to all the communications systems of the world. That should make living here a bit easier for you, until we find a way to get you home."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Wait." Reilly suddenly asked. "You sound like you know Ryo; I saw how you reacted when you heard his name."  
  
Hitomi shook her head. "I think it's a different Ryo than the one you were talking about. The Ryo Akiyama where I come from is a digidestined and a very skilled pokemon trainer. He also married Caryl Kyashi and they adopted a daughter, though I haven't seen any of them in years." Reilly slumped a bit in her chair. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be. It's actually nice knowing that there is another Ryo out there..."  
  
==Wednesday  
  
Jeri and Hitomi walked to the park together, having said they would meet Takato and Henry there so they could play with Guilmon and Gabumon. "I guess we're kind of like government agents now." Jeri said conversationally.  
  
"I suppose. Mom and dad were surprised when I told them." Hitomi smiled, remembering her father's reaction (along the lines of 'you're doing WHAT now?' -ed). At that moment, her pokegear rang.  
  
"Hitomi, it's Talli." the voice said over the phone. "There's a bio-emergence taking place near the park. Can you check it out? It looks fairly small."  
  
"We're guessing a rookie or low level champion digimon, at best." Janyu's voice added.  
  
"We're nearly there now." Hitomi said, looking around. She spotted a small cloud of fog appearing, heralding the creation of a digital field. She glanced at Jeri. "Shall we go? The others should be there by now."  
  
Jeri nodded, taking out a pair of sunglasses. Hitomi did likewise, and the two friends ran towards the digital field, Hitomi calling Eevee out of his pokeball as they ran.  
  
Next Episode  
Makuramon makes his move, sabotaging the Juggernaut program that Yamaki created and opening a giant digital rift. Through it comes Vikaralamon, intent on destroying the Hypnos building and ensuring that the rift will not close. Can any of the tamers stop Vikaralamon, and save Calumon and Unown from Makuramon? Next time, on Digicross Tamers episode 16:  
'WarGrowlmon, defend Hypnos!' 


	16. Digicross Tamers 16 'Wargrowlmon, defend...

==Tokyo, Thursday Night  
  
Hitomi's pokegear beeped. Only half asleep, Hitomi got up from the cot she was sleeping on, and activated the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hitomi? It's Hiroki. Can I talk to you? I have something I need to tell you..."  
  
==  
  
Digicross Tamers episode 16  
  
'Wargrowlmon, defend Hypnos!'  
  
==  
  
Hitomi was a bit surprised, not expecting Hiroki to call at this time of night. "What's wrong, Hiroki?"  
  
"It's...Well, you remember when Ryoko and I went to that other digital world, and met those other digidestined?"  
  
Unconsciously, Hitomi nodded. "Yes, I do. One of them looked like you, right?"  
  
"Yeah, it was Tomoki. But something went wrong there, and Ryoko, Izumi, and I are going back there to find out what happened."  
  
"What?" Hitomi gasped. "Just like that?"  
  
"It'll be alright." Hiroki said reassuringly. "Ryoko and Sneasel will be there, and Izumi as well; Izumi was able to find another spirit and evolve into a stronger digimon, and Ryoko and Sneasel have been practicing a whole lot since they got back. And I've been training with Armadillomon when I could get some free time, too."  
  
"Hiroki..." Hitomi whispered.  
  
There was a pause on the other end of the line, then Hiroki spoke again. "Izzy says he's nearly ready to try out the video connection with those people at Hypnos, but I can't wait for that 'cause I'm really worried about Tomoki."  
  
"It's alright. You should go check on your friend, Hiroki."  
  
Hiroki sounded relieved to hear that. "I just wanted to say...that is...when we both get home, there's a circus coming to my home town, and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me. I mean, could I take you to the circus some time? I promise, I won't take you on any of the kiddy rides!"  
  
Hitomi stared at the phone, tears building up. "I'd like that." she whispered into the phone. "But only if you promise to be careful."  
  
"I will." Hiroki replied. Hitomi heard some voices over the phone, muted and hard to make out. "I have to go now. I just called to let you know that I might not be here for a while. But I'll call from the other digital world when I get a chance."  
  
"G...good bye, Hiroki-chan." Hitomi said into the phone. "Please take care of yourself and Armadillomon."  
  
"I'll see you soon." Hiroki replied. "And Hitomi...? I love you." He said, then hung up. Hitomi sat on her cot, just staring at her pokegear.   
  
"I love you too." Hitomi whispered back into the phone.   
  
A few hours later, Eevee crept over to Nami, who was still awake and watching Hitomi sleep. "That was Hiroki, right? The boy that likes Hitomi?"   
  
Eevee nodded. "Yeah. It sounded like he was headed into a digital world, and called to let Hitomi know where he was. It's a shame, I think she was looking forward to seeing Hiroki on Saturday, assuming Izzy can get all the bugs worked out of the video link system."  
  
"She's only eleven years old." Nami said. "How can she have a boyfriend already?"  
  
Eevee chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. Hitomi didn't even know it until Jeri spelled it out for her a few weeks ago. Even when they get back, they're both going to be spending a lot of time too embarrassed to talk to each other without looking silly and blushing a lot. Besides, I know Hiroki, and his parents. He'd never do anything to hurt Hitomi. Of course, I will be going as her official chaperone. Kyle'll probably ask Scizor to go with her too."  
  
Nami nodded, smiling. "Well, goodnight, Eevee."  
  
"Night." Eevee replied. "I wonder if Yohko was listening in...?"  
  
==New Bark Town, Saturday  
  
"Are they here yet?" Matt asked for the fifth time that hour. He, Mimi, and their two children were with them, waiting just outside of Izzy's lab.  
  
Mimi sighed, rolling her eyes as she did. "For the fifth time, they'll be here in a few minutes. Honestly, Matt, don't you have any faith in Izzy?"  
  
A young girl looked up. "He's just worried about Hitomi, even if he'll never admit it." Matt shook his head, shrugging.  
  
"Yohko," Mimi said to their daughter, "don't tease your father. That's my job. You're supposed to be harassing your brother. Right, Taichi?"  
  
Taichi Tachikawa shrugged. "Don't look at me. All she's been doing is eavesdropping on Hiroki's phone calls." Yohko blushed a bit, failing to look innocent.  
  
"Young lady," Mimi scolded, "what have we said about that sort of thing?"  
  
Yohko sighed. "Don't eavesdrop on other people's phone conversations. Unless I share it with you."  
  
Mimi nodded. "That's right. So what happened?"  
  
Inside, Izzy and Ken were doing the final calibrations on what Davis had once dubbed as a 'super-dimensional cell-phone', Izzy had called the 'Inoue/Kamiya Signal Drive system', and everyone else (Kari included) called an unholy mess that might work, or take the whole place with it when it went up.  
  
To Kyle and June, it was their first chance to actually see how their daughter was doing. "What if it doesn't work?" June whispered to Kyle.  
  
"It'll work." Kyle replied. "I've seen Izzy like that before. He'll make this work if he has to wire in his laptop computer and Tentomon to run it." Kyle smiled a bit. "I still can't believe he's got that thing with him."  
  
"I heard that!" Tentomon yelled, watching several gauges.  
  
"I was talking about the laptop." Kyle replied.  
  
Eevee, perched on Kyle's shoulder, shrugged. "It's still the best reference source for anything to do with digimon. Is he done yet?"  
  
"Soon!" Izzy called, standing on a stool and checking the wiring. "I just have to make sure I have this thing set to receive signals from Hitomi's digivice. I've had to guess a bit since she said her digivice changed."  
  
"It'll be fine." Elecmon said to June. "We may rag on her Eevee all the time, but he's an... acceptable fighter. Don't tell him I said that, though."  
  
"At least we can tell her where the digiegg of loyalty went." Growlithe added. "I never knew I missed being able to fly so much."  
  
"A little too much." Kyle said. "You know we'll have to give it back to her when she gets back."  
  
"I know." Growlithe replied. He looked up, ears twitching. "Sounds like Yohko got some dirt on someone...ah, Hiroki, just before he left. It seems he...oh my." Eevee, also listening, almost fell off of Kyle's shoulder.  
  
"Hmm? What was it?" June asked.  
  
"Later." Growlithe said, just as the Tachikawas entered the room, as did Kari and Kyoko.  
  
June knelt down, and looked at Kyoko. "How are you today?"  
  
"Fine, thank you." Kyoko replied. Her eyes were bright, but there was something in her voice. June hugged Kyoko, glancing at Kari as she did so. Kari shook her head slightly, indicating that they'd talk about it later. Matt and Kyle were talking, nothing significant, just small talk to fill the time.  
  
"Are we late?" A female voice called, as three more humans and a pokemon wandered in. Caryl Kyashi, Ryo Akiyama, and their daughter Akira entered the room.  
  
"Soon!" Izzy yelled, not noticing the newcomers, and feeling a little harried at this point. At his console, Ken shrugged to the rest of the people helplessly, then got back to work.  
  
"I haven't seen you in years." Kyle said to Caryl and Ryo. "How've you been?"  
  
"Oh, it's a been a nightmare." Caryl sighed over-dramatically. "Challengers everywhere I go, legions of rabid fans, speeches and guest lectures every few weeks. I'll be glad for a vacation. I don't know how Prima put up with it."  
  
"Prima wasn't as much of a showboater as you, dear." Ryo said. Caryl stuck her tongue out at her husband.  
  
"And how've you been?" Kyle asked Akira. "Last time I saw you, you were about 6 years old. You've grown up."  
  
"But I haven't lost my youthful charm." Akira replied. "Renamon and I are too busy dancing to grow up. Hey, where is Renamon, anyway?"  
  
Ryo looked over his shoulder. "Outside, with mom's Renamon. We're sorry we couldn't come any sooner Our ship was stuck in the Houen region, and the nearest city didn't have a working computer."  
  
"We managed." Akira said. "Relax! We got a free plane ride out of it!"  
  
"Akira." Ryo said. "This is a very important occasion."  
  
"We know." Akira replied, looking at her partner digimon. "I haven't seen Hitomi in years! I want to know how she's been."   
  
"Akira!" Yohko ran over to Akira. The two hugged, having been friends since birth. "I'm so glad you made it. You remember my brother, right?" She indicated Taichi, standing off to the side and feeling a bit overwhelmed.  
  
"How could I forget?" Akira asked. "You CAN come over, you know." she said, inviting Taichi over. "We won't bite."  
  
"Almost done!" Izzy called. "Kyle, June? You're up first, just..." Izzy stopped, realizing for the first time that there were quite a few more people in the lab than he'd expected. Kari sighed. 25 years, and he still hadn't changed.  
  
==Hypnos HQ, Tokyo.  
  
The tamers were all gathered by one of the screens, while Janyu, Babel, and Dolphin worked madly at the controls. In the Scanning Dome, Reilly and Talli were busy trying to reconfigure the equipment that normally detected digimon so it could do something quite different.  
  
"Signal detected, I'm establishing a link now." Talli called.  
  
"I have it." Dolphin yelled back, deafening Babel. "We're just running the signal through the processors."  
  
Jeri glanced at Hitomi. "Are you alright?" Hitomi nodded. Beside her, Eevee and Noctowl rested on the floor, waiting for the experiment to finish. They were as eager as Hitomi to see pictures from their home. "I'm a bit nervous too." Jeri said.  
  
"Yeah." Takato agreed. "I mean, we're actually going to be talking to the digidestined from the TV show. How cool is that?"  
  
Rika sighed, a bit annoyed. "Get a grip, goggle head." she sighed. "They're probably nothing like the characters on TV." Rika shook her head. "We didn't come here for an autograph session, you know."  
  
"You can't really blame him." Henry replied. "I mean, this isn't at least a little weird to you? Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like if you met Tai or Matt or Joe?"  
  
Rika snorted. "I'm not the one with the goggle fixation here." Standing by Rika, Alice smiled, but said nothing.  
  
"It's coming through!" Dolphin said, stepping back from his console. "Speakers and mics are on, we're a go!"  
  
On the large screen in front of the tamers, there was a wash of static. The image cleared a few seconds later, leaving two figures staring at them through the screen that no one except Hitomi recognized.  
  
"Mom! Dad!"  
  
"H...Hitomi..." Kyle gasped.  
  
"Dear..." June stammered. "You're alright! We were so worried about you..."  
  
==  
  
It took about 20 minutes to get the introductions out of the way. There was some guffaws when, on introducing Takato, Kyle's Eevee had asked what it was with some kids and goggles. It was when they got to Rika that things got odd.  
  
"Come on!" Jeri whispered to Rika. "They can't see you from here!" She half-dragged Rika over to the screen.  
  
"And this is Rika, she's the really good digimon tamer I told you about."  
  
"Really? Maybe she could come here and help...oh." Kyle blinked, getting his first good look at Rika. "Umm...Akira? Could you come here for a sec? I think it happened again."  
  
Curious, Rika glanced at Hitomi, who shrugged. Akira stepped into view of the monitor. "Hi, Hitomi! You probably don't remember me, but I'm Akira, we last saw each other about five, six years ago and OH WOW!"  
  
Rika stared, stunned. Aside from Akira's hairstyle, pagegirl length, no braiding, Rika would swear she was looking into a mirror. Renamon darted forward, catching Rika as she nearly stumbled backwards. "You're...me?" Rika gasped.  
  
Akira recovered, her usual personality coming back. "Nah. I'm *much* more graceful." she replied impishly.  
  
"Akira." A voice off-screen said.  
  
"Sorry." Akira sighed. "Hey, I have a Renamon for a partner too! Come over here! No, you!" A Renamon joined Akira. "My Renamon and I are dance partners. Do you dance?"  
  
"D-dance?" Rika asked, still a bit dazed.  
  
Akira nodded. "Hey, why don't we get together once Izzy gets the portal going between our worlds? I'm sure we'll have loads to talk about!"  
  
"That would be interesting." Rika's Renamon replied.  
  
"Great!" Akira said. "Can you bring him?" she asked, indicating Henry. "He's cute!"  
  
"Gwaah?" Henry went, stepping back. Terriermon collapsed with laughter. Even Janyu had to hold back a few chuckles.  
  
"What's wrong with Henry?" Guilmon asked, noticing that Henry's face was bright red.  
  
"When you're older." Renamon sighed.  
  
"I think I need to sit down." Rika said a bit weakly.  
  
"Rika, that's so neat! You have a twin sister!" Jeri said. Rika looked at Jeri, expression unreadable.  
  
"Maybe I should speak to the people in charge for a few seconds." Izzy said, cutting in.  
  
"Oh wow...that's Izzy!" Takato whispered.  
  
"In the flesh."   
  
"Sorry, it's just...wow." Takato tried to stay calm.  
  
"Call me Dolphin." Dolphin said, stepping into range of the screen. "So, you're really Izzy, from the TV show?"  
  
"Yeah. Sorry, no autographs."  
  
"No, none of that. Just making sure I wasn't dreaming. You're a pretty popular TV character here."  
  
"I hope they got our good sides." Izzy replied.   
  
"Well, Alice thinks you're hot." Dolphin said, smirking.  
  
"DAD!"  
  
"Should I tell him about the webshrine, dear?" Dolphin asked his daughter.  
  
"DON'T YOU DARE!"  
  
Kari leaned in, giving Izzy a chance to recover. "We arranged for a little surprise for your new friends. Care to say hi to the rest of the Japanese digidestined?"  
  
Hitomi and the rest of the tamers gasped as the entire contingent of Japanese digidestined, and their children, started introducing themselves.  
  
==  
  
A few floors down, Makuramon worked quietly. He had managed to hide the alterations he had made to the Juggernaut system so far, altering its function from simply destroying digimon to a more useful end. He had managed to entirely miss what was happening upstairs, so focussed he was on his plan.  
  
Carefully, he ran a test program. On a computer screen, a map of Tokyo appeared, dozens of small red lights appearing on the map. After a few seconds, the lights started vanishing until only one was left.  
  
"Excellent. Now that I can find Calumon whenever I wish, capturing him will be that much easier. And I can dispose of this human-constructed wastepile all the sooner!"  
  
==Two hours later.  
  
Takato and Henry sat in the park, watching their digimon play. After the call ended, Hitomi had broken down, Ms. Asaji and Jeri offering to take Hitomi home for the rest of the day. Guilmon walked over to Takato. "What was wrong with Hitomi?" he asked.  
  
"She just really misses her parents." Takato replied. "I guess seeing them again just reminded her how much."  
  
Henry nodded. "Yeah. Her parents seemed really neat, and not just because of who they were. It was pretty neat, wasn't it?"  
  
Takato nodded. "Yeah. I mean, how many people can say that they've actually talked to TK, of all people?"  
  
Henry arched an eyebrow. "You did seem a bit eager about that. I'd have thought you'd have wanted to talk to Davis or Tai more."  
  
"Nah. TK always seemed more...I don't know, in control of things. I just put on these goggles to show the difference between Digimon and Humans to Guilmon. I did see your eyes light up when Cody stepped on the screen."  
  
Henry shrugged. "Hey, I liked him."  
  
"It's a martial arts thing!" Terriermon yelled from where he was playing. Henry shrugged helplessly. Laughing, Terriermon ran over, hiding behind Henry.  
  
"Hey, where'd Rika go?" Takato asked. "She left right after the call ended."  
  
"Home, I guess. I think seeing Akira creeped her out a bit."  
  
"Maybe it was seeing a non-psychotic Rika?" Terriermon suggested.  
  
"That was rude." Henry answered, giving Terriermon a light rap on the head. "Well, my dad's going to be out of town for the week, so I have to get home a bit earlier and keep an eye on Suzie. Later." Waving, Henry left, taking Terriermon with him.  
  
==Nonaka home  
  
"Rika? Is everything alright?" her grandmother asked. Rika had come home, said nothing, and just went to her room and sat down.  
  
"Sure." Rika said. "I just need some rest, that's all."  
  
"Did everything go well with Hitomi's parents?" Yuka asked. Rika had told her grandmother about Hitomi shortly after she had introduced Renamon.  
  
"Yeah. I just need to let it sink in, that's all."  
  
"Of course dear. If you need anything, just ask." The door closed, and Rika was alone again.  
  
"Was that what I could have been?" Rika wondered aloud. "She looked so...happy."  
  
"She was not you, Rika." Renamon said, appearing. Startled, Rika jumped up. "Now you know how the other tamers feel when I do that." she added wryly.  
  
"Funny." Rika replied, a bit annoyed with herself.   
  
"All Akira did was choose a different path."  
  
"She had a Renamon too, though." Rika countered.  
  
"I didn't see the resemblance." Renamon replied. "I'm much better looking."  
  
"HI!" Calumon yelled, flying in through the window and tackling Rika. Behind him, Unown floated in, making several noises at Renamon, which she took as a greeting.  
  
"C-Calumon?" Rika asked.  
  
"That's me! Come on, let's play!"  
  
"Wait!" Rika said, getting Calumon's attention. "What kind...I mean, are there other digimon like you?"  
  
"Like me?" Calumon asked. He thought for a second, ears retracting as he did. "I think I'm kind of unique." Floating beside him, Unown chirped in the affirmative. "It'd be kind of weird if there was another Calumon out there. But I bet he'd want to have as much fun as I would!"  
  
"You're alone?" Rika asked.  
  
"Of course not!" Calumon replied. "I have Unown as a friend, and you and Renamon and Guilmon and even Impmon, although he's going on about something called data and how he wants my data, but I can't give him my data because I don't have any to begin with but he insists that I have data to give him do you know what that means Rika 'cause I'm really confused?"  
  
"Impmon?" Renamon asked. "It seems he survived the takeover of Hypnos after all." she observed. "I did wonder about him."  
  
"You and me both." Rika added. "Should we go after him?"  
  
"I see no need. As long as Yamaki is out of the picture, Impmon should not be a major threat." Renamon replied. "I still cannot believe he and Yamaki are partners."  
  
==Stone Town, Kyle and June's home.  
  
"We're home!" Kyle yelled. A small Pidgey flew over, landing on Kyle's head. "Yes, I missed you too, Pidgey. Did you take good care of the place while we were gone?" The Pidgey cooed happily.  
  
"Well, of course he did a good job." Eevee, perched in his usual position (Kyle's shoulder), commented. "Growlithe and I did give him pointers."  
  
"A-HEM!" Elecmon grunted. "*Who* gave him pointers in protecting this house? I did all the work, while you just whined about the old days."  
  
"That's enough, you guys." June cut in. "I think I'm going to have a light dinner, a nice bath, then turn in." She looked at her husband. "So, what are we having?" she asked impishly.  
  
"You're in a good mood." Kyle replied.  
  
"It's just knowing Hitomi's alright, and with friends. It was...like looking at us, when we were just starting out. I just know she'll be alright with them."  
  
"Yeah." Kyle agreed. "Though that whole goggle thing is starting to worry me."  
  
"Takato seemed nice." June said. "So did Jeri, for that matter. I think Rika was a bit put out, seeing Akira and Renamon. Strange that, both looking alike and having the same digimon for a partner."  
  
"Alice and Dobermon were nice." Growlithe added.  
  
"Yeah. So, that was Guilmon. That Takato's got some imagination. It's the first time I've ever heard of someone creating a digimon by drawing one." Kyle looked out the living room window. "I miss her so much." he whispered.  
  
A minute later, June wrapped her arms around Kyle's waist. "So do I." she whispered in his ear.  
  
==Monday, Tokyo  
  
Hitomi stepped out of the bathroom, dressed for school. "I'm ready to go." she said.  
  
Nami Asaji looked up. "Okay. If we hurry, we can catch the bus and get to school a little early. Eevee, Noctowl, behave while we're out."  
  
Noctowl cooed, settling in for a nap. "Alright. Though I'd feel better if I went with you."  
  
"We'll be fine." Nami replied. "If anything happens, Hitomi has her pokegear with her. She can call if something comes up." The two left.  
  
With luck, they managed to catch the early bus. "Hitomi, are you alright?" Nami asked.  
  
Hitomi nodded. "Yes, thank you. I just...really felt homesick over the weekend. I never knew how much until I saw mom and dad on the screen."  
  
Nami placed a hand on Hitomi's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll make it home."  
  
"M...maybe you could come with me?" Hitomi asked. "I think mom and dad would like you. And you could meet all of the children there."  
  
"You mean that?" Nami asked. "I could...come with you?" Hitomi nodded. "Thank you." she said quietly.  
  
The two got off near the school. Hitomi spotted someone running towards them. "Jeri!" she called. "Over here!"  
  
"Hitomi!" Jeri replied. "Good morning, Ms. Asaji." she added hastily, bowing to the teacher.  
  
"The bell hasn't rung yet, Jeri. Though I do hope you finished your homework for today." Jeri nodded enthusiastically. "You're early today. You don't have classroom duty this morning, do you?"  
  
"No, I just wanted to get in a bit early." Jeri replied. "And I wanted to see Gabumon at the park, too."  
  
The two girls chatted on the way, Nami walking a few paces behind them. She enjoyed the sight of Hitomi acting so...normal. No giant monsters or secret government agencies, just a normal schoolgirl.  
  
She'd miss that the most when Hitomi returned home.  
  
==Park  
  
Calumon and Unown wandered around. They had challenged Gabumon and Guilmon to a game of hide and seek, and were currently 'it', and trying to find Guilmon. "Ooh...Guilmon is so good at this. Who'd have thought a big red dinosaur could hide so easily?"  
  
"Hey, creampuff!" Looking down, Calumon spotted Impmon. He was about to fly down when he remembered Renamon's warning.  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't talk to you. Renamon said I'm not supposed to."  
  
"Not SUPPOSED to?" Impmon cackled. "Does Renamon tuck you in at night and give you a bottle, too? Come on, I just wanna talk, that's all." Calumon landed on a branch, well out of reach of Impmon. Beside him, Unown hovered protectively. "Come a little closer, I wanna get your data, ya flyin' jelly roll."  
  
"I don't wanna!" Calumon replied.  
  
Impmon summoned up a fireball, letting it hover over his left hand. "Get down here or I'll make you come down!"  
  
"Renamon said that you're not much of a threat without Yamaki, so as long as I stay away from you, I should be alright." Calumon replied, utterly unaware of what he was saying.  
  
"I'm...not...a...THREAT? GET DOWN HERE YOU LITTLE HAIRBALL AND I'LL SHOW YOU A THREAT!"  
  
"I'm sure she meant it in a nice way!" Calumon answered, flying away with Unown. Snarling, Impmon chased after Calumon and Unown, hurling fireballs as he did. A minute later, Impmon came running back, Gabumon and Guilmon chasing -him-.  
  
"Does this mean we're playing battle tag now?" Calumon wondered.  
  
==Hypnos HQ  
  
Babel checked the report in his hands again, and looked at the readout for the mainframe. "Still nothing." he said into a small communicator. "Whatever is causing that error message, it's not coming from the primary system. Could we have been hacked?"  
  
"I doubt it." Reilly's voice came back. "Our firewalls are top of the line."  
  
"Meaning that there's a big 'crash me' sign taped on the front door of our network." Babel replied sourly. "What's this thing supposed to be running, anyway?"  
  
"It holds data for the prototype Juggernaut system. Isao was experimenting with it when..." Reilly trailed off.  
  
Babel nodded. "Maybe we should wipe the system then. It could be that he left this thing running when the kids hit this place. That could explain what's eating up all the system memory."  
  
"It's possible." Talli replied over the communicator. "I've checked it with every diagnostic we have; there's no viruses or other hostile programs present in the Hypnos mainframe."  
  
"Alright. I'll have the techs wipe the mainframe core and reload everything. Babel, can you get Ramone on it? I haven't seen him around, and his office is near the mainframe." Back in her office, Reilly had a sudden sense of alarm, but quickly dismissed it.  
  
"Sure. I'll contact you in a bit. Out." Babel made his way down to the mainframe.  
  
The central mainframe was in what was referred to as a 'clean' room, the components being kept inside a totally sterile environment, free of dust, microbe, or static discharge. Operating and programming it was done through one of several remote booths, where programs could be loaded and deleted as needed. Yamaki, when he was here, had spent much time in the various booths, working obsessively to finish his ultimate program: the Juggernaut, intended to be the destroyer of all digimon.  
  
Babel saw that Ramone's office was empty, the door left wide open. "Hey, Mike? You down here? Mike?" He wandered along, then gasped. Michael Ramone, chief technician, was -inside- the clean room, directly working on the mainframe! "Hey! Get out of there!" Babel stormed into the nearest booth, activating one of the speakers. "You'll wreck the whole system! Are you nuts?"  
  
"No, just tired of this pathetic charade. You didn't think you could destroy all of us, did you? Certainly not with this human designed waste of data! MAKAWW!" Abruptly, Ramone's body seemed to de-resolve, and a smaller form appeared.   
  
Babel recognized the digimon. "Makuramon!" he gasped. "Security! Intruder in the mainframe core! HURRY!" He also slapped an alarm button, praying that someone got here quickly.  
  
"It's too late! I have completed my modifications to your pathetic weapon. Destroy us? Your little toy will enable us to destroy you! Primal Orb!" Makuramon hurled the small metal sphere, smashing through a wall, and entering another control booth.  
  
Babel tore out of his booth, ran down the hall, and got there in time to see Makuramon exiting. "Brave, but futile!" Makuramon taunted, attacking with his staff. Angered by this digimon, Babel ignored all tenants of conventional fighting, stepped forward, and punched Makuramon in the face.  
  
"Y...You...you hit me!" Makuramon stammered. "No human lays a hand on a Deva and escapes with their life! You and your whole world will pay for that sleight!"  
  
Babel cocked his fists, memories of his days as a boxer came back. "Bring it, you wimp-panzee!" Enraged by the taunt, Makuramon dashed forward, murder on his mind. Babel sidestepped the wild charge, grabbed Makuramon's staff, and slammed the digimon into the wall.  
  
Dazed, Makuramon stood up, leaning on the wall. "I underestimated you. Few digimon have ever laid a hand on me. Be honored, for you are the first human to join their ranks…in the afterlife!"  
  
"Hold it right there!" a security guard shouted. "Don't move!"  
  
Makuramon sniffed. "Please. I see that it is about to get infested with humans! So I shall go now, and capture my prize! MA-KAW!" he shouted, deafening everyone there. There was an explosion, as Makuramon's Primal Orb tore a hole in the side of the building.  
  
"Prize?" Babel wondered. He then noticed the readout on one of the data panels on the mainframe. He ran over, read the information, eyes widening in horror. "Reilly!" he yelled into a communicator one of the security guards offered him. "Wipe the mainframe NOW!"  
  
==  
  
Upstairs, Talli and Reilly worked their controls. "It's no good!" Talli called back. "The system's locked up!" She turned and looked at Reilly. "What's the Juggernaut program doing? I thought it wasn't complete!"  
  
"Looks like Makuramon finished it. How could I not have seen this coming?" Reilly said, staring helplessly. "I'm reading a power buildup! Babel, get everyone out of the core! Sound the evacuation alert!"  
  
"Reilly?" Talli gasped.  
  
"There's a lot of power being pulled into the mainframe. There's no telling what Makuramon did. We could be sitting on a bomb. Now evacuate!" Talli got up, and, after one last look, Reilly got out of her seat and followed her. "I'm sorry, Isao." she whispered.  
  
==School  
  
Lunch was nearing, and the class was restless. Nami Asaji glanced at her plan for the day, and turned back to the board. "Okay class, this is going to be a simple math problem. No groaning, Kazu." She hid a smile as she heard a quiet "d'oh!" from the back of the room. "Now, I want someone to come up here and solve this problem. Kenta, would you like to?"  
  
Kenta glanced at Hitomi, who was paying attention, and got up. "Yes ma'am." he said. Now I can really impress Hitomi with my knowledge of mathematics, he thought to himself. He went to the board, ignoring Kazu's glare, and started working on the problem. "Is it 16?" he asked when finished.  
  
"Yes. Very good Kenta." Nami said. Kenta grinned, and gave a little 'V for victory' sign, unknowingly aiming it at Hitomi. "Now please sit down, unless there's something you'd like to say to the class?" Blushing, Kenta did so. With a slight grin, Nami saw Hitomi's face go a bit red too. "Kazu? You seemed like you followed what Kenta did. Would you like to answer the next problem?"  
  
Startled, Kazu got up, suddenly aware of the fact that he never got around to finishing last night's homework. Deciding to make a wild guess, Kazu put on an air of mock confidence, and started up to the board.  
  
"Woah, what's that?" Takato gasped. Nami was about to reprimand Takato when she saw what had caught his attention.  
  
Ever since Hitomi had been kidnapped, Nami had been uncomfortably aware of the twin Hypnos towers, easily visible on the Tokyo skyline.  
  
Both towers were glowing green, and emitting beams of light into the sky. The fire alarm rang twice, then the principal came on. "Attention all students. We've just had a report of an accident a short distance from the school. Could all staff and students please follow the evacuation plan and exit the building in a calm and orderly manner? All classes please meet on the east side of the building, instead of their regular areas? Thank you."  
  
"You heard him!" Nami called. Everyone got up, grabbed bookbags, and quietly left the classroom. Takato, Hitomi, and Jeri made sure they were the last students to leave the room. "I don't think you should go there." Nami cautioned the three tamers. "It might not be a digimon."  
  
Hitomi's pokegear rang at that moment. "Hello?" she said. After listening for a few minutes, Hitomi looked up and said "It's Ms. Reilly. She said that a digimon infiltrated Hypnos and sabotaged the main computer. Then the digimon left, saying something about a prize."  
  
"Prize?" Jeri wondered.  
  
Takato thought for a second. "Calumon!" he suddenly yelled. "We have to get to him! Ms Asaji?"  
  
"I'll cover for you." Nami said. "Be careful. I'll get Henry to meet you as soon as possible."  
  
==Park  
  
Calumon looked around frantically, trying to hide from an enraged Impmon. He had returned after Gabumon and Guilmon left, having said something about a digital field forming. "I said get back here!" Impmon yelled. Unown turned, and fired a bolt of energy, striking Impmon. He staggered, but recovered. "Nice try, alphabet-head." he taunted. "I've been loading a whole bunch of data, so I'm a lot tougher than I used to be. Now why don't you give up?" Leering, Impmon summoned up another fireball, intent on destroying Unown right there.  
  
"I wouldn't." a voice behind Impmon growled. Turning, Impmon saw that Alice and Dobermon standing there. "Well, well. If it isn't a chew-toy."  
  
"You want a piece of me?" Impmon replied, unshaken. "Then let's dance, doggie."  
  
==Outside Hypnos  
  
Reilly looked up, as the two towers of the Hypnos building glowed green, pulsing at regular intervals. Talli and Babel ran over to her. "There's no radiation detected. It's like nothing we've ever seen." Talli reported.  
  
Dolphin joined them. "Actually, we have seen this energy before. I'm surprised none of you have noticed it already."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Reilly demanded.  
  
"Bio-emergence." Dolphin replied, causing everyone to blanch. "It looks like whatever that Makuramon did, it used the juggernaut program to create a rift between the digital world an here."  
  
"You mean, another digimon could come through?" Talli gasped.  
  
"One big one. Or a lot of smaller ones." Babel reasoned. "How long has this digimon been working here?"  
  
"I don't know." Reilly replied. "He was always just...there. He really made a name for himself helping Isao work on the Juggernaut program."  
  
"In other words," Dolphin amended, "Makuramon, in the guise of Michael Ramone, played Yamaki, and all of us, for saps." The energy pulsed all the brighter, and a bolt of green light shot out, arcing to a point a few miles away.  
  
Takato, Henry, Jeri, and Hitomi came running. "We came as soon as we could." Takato wheezed. "I...WHAT'S THAT?"  
  
'That' was a large, furry boar, shuffling slowly towards Hypnos. Gabumon jumped up onto a Hypnos van, trying to get a better look. "Vikaralamon." he whispered, stunned.  
  
"You know him?" Jeri asked, incredulous.  
  
"He's one of the Devas, a group of extremely powerful digimon." Gabumon replied. "So they did come here."  
  
"We'll have to discuss this later." Reilly replied. "That digimon is going to destroy the whole town, and it looks like it's headed this way. Can you stop him?"  
  
Terriermon nodded. "Sure. We'll have him whipped before you can say 'bacon and eggs.'"  
  
"What's bacon, Takatomon?" Guilmon asked.  
  
"Food, Guilmon, it's food." Takato replied absently, not thinking about what he was saying. Noctowl, carrying Eevee, arrived at that point, followed by Rika and Renamon. "The park!" Takato gasped.   
  
"What about it?" Rika asked.  
  
"Calumon's there, and Makuramon's going after him!"  
  
"Makuramon's HERE?" Gabumon half-yelled.  
  
"Is he another Deva?" Jeri asked.  
  
"You know the Devas?" Renamon gasped.  
  
"Later!" Henry cut in. "That monster's headed for Hypnos, and dad's apartment. We have to stop him!"  
  
"But what about Calumon?" Takato replied.  
  
"Hitomi and I will go help Calumon." Rika replied. "We can get there faster. Come on!"  
  
"I'll get a vehicle-" Reilly started to say.  
  
Rika shook her head. "No need. Digi-modify! Digivolution ACTIVATE!"  
  
"Renamon, digivolve to...Kyuubimon!" Rika and Hitomi climbed onto Kyuubimon's back, and the two humans (and one pokemon) sped off, Noctowl flying close behind them. (Their story will be dealt with in the next chapter -ed)  
  
"Okay." Henry said. "Now we just have to handle the giant pig. Anyone got any ideas?"  
  
"Unless you happen to have a frying pan the size of a football field, no." Terriermon replied.  
  
"The Devas are extremely powerful and ruthless." Gabumon said. "Our only hope will be to strike hard and not give him a chance to recover. Be careful; Vikaralamon's not very fast, but his furry hide acts like armour, and he can trap opponents with attacks launched from his mouth."  
  
"You never told me about any of this." Jeri said.  
  
"I prayed this day would never come." Gabumon replied. "But I swear I will tell you all I know when this is over. We should digivolve now, while we have the chance."  
  
"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Guilmon, digivolve to...Growlmon!"  
  
"Gabumon, digivolve to...Leomon!"  
  
"Terriermon, digivolve to...Gargomon!"  
  
==Wong residence  
  
Melin Wong looked around, worried by the sudden tremor that shook the apartment they lived in. "Suzie," she called, "get under your desk, just like we practiced!" Living in earthquake prone Tokyo did that to people.  
  
"Mommy! I'm scared!" Suzie's voice came back. "There's a monster shaking the building! I need Tewwiermon!"  
  
What is her fascination with that toy of Henry's, Melin wondered for the nth time. "Henry will bring him home soon, dear. He'll chase away the scary monster."  
  
"I hope he hurries!" Suzie yelled. "'Cause the monster's going past my school!"  
  
Confused, Melin looked out the window. Her eyes widened as she saw a giant wild pig marching in their direction. "Suzie!" Melin yelled. "Get your coat!"  
  
==  
  
The Tamers, minus Hitomi and Rika, ran towards Vikaralamon, Leomon recalling all he knew of the giant pig digimon. "So, are all the Devas this bad?"  
  
"Most of them, yes. Ever since they started serving something called the True Sovereign. Who he might be, I don't know. All he wants is to destroy the digital world. And this one, from the looks of it."  
  
"And Calumon?" Jeri asked. "Why was Makuramon so interested in Calumon? Because he can make digimon digivolve?"  
  
"Calumon doesn't make digimon digivolve, he IS digivolution, given physical form. It was hoped that if we hid him, the True Sovereign would be easier to defeat. When I came here, I thought that the Devas could not follow; it's normally impossible for digimon above the champion level to come to this plane."  
  
"Why's that?" Takato asked.  
  
"Later!" Henry said. "We have to stop Vikaralamon now, before it's too late."  
  
"Hey, aren't we near...SUZIE!" Gargomon suddenly yelled. Gargomon ran ahead, firing his weapons at the giant Deva, with little effect.  
  
"Digi-Modify!" Henry yelled. "Power Charger, activate!"  
  
"Gargo Laser!" Gargomon shouted, his weapons power increased in effectiveness. "Any TIME, guys!"  
  
"Pyro-Blaster!" Growlmon lobbed a fireball at Vikaralamon, impacting in the same area Gargomon was shooting at.  
  
"Digi-modify! Offense Plug in V activate!" Jeri called.  
  
"Fist of the Beast King!" The combined attacks slammed into Vikaralamon.  
  
The pig Deva turned, knocking over a small house as it did so. "Leomon." he rumbled. "I thought Majiramon and Antylamon had defeated you. Once again, I will have to finish what they started."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Leomon demanded. "This is not the digital world! You have no need to be here!"  
  
"The Catalyst draws us." Vikaralamon rumbled again. "We must have him, to purify the digital world, and, by extension, this one."  
  
"By...extension?" Takato gasped.  
  
"Humans created the digital world." Vikaralamon went on. "Therefore, humans must be purified as well."  
  
"No....NO! FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" Leomon's attack slammed into Vikaralamon's face. "I will not let you!"  
  
"You have no choice, traitor. Boar Bog!" A sticky black goo oozed out of the pig's mouth, trapping Leomon.  
  
"Leomon!" Jeri yelled.  
  
"Don't worry!" Takato yelled. "Growlmon, cut him out of there!"  
  
"Okay, Takatomon! Dragon Slash!" Growlmon's attack cut some of the substance away, allowing Leomon the chance to free himself with his sword. However, Vikaralamon moved away, dismissing the three digimon as harmless.  
  
"He's almost at my home!" Henry yelled. "Everyone, use your strongest cards! Digi-Modify! Machinedramon's Giga Cannon Activate!"  
  
Takato nodded. "Imperialdramon's Giga Crusher Activate!"  
  
"Metal Seadramon's River of Power, Activate!" Jeri added. The three champion digimon glowed with the added power.  
  
"Giga Cannon!"  
  
"Giga Crusher!!"  
  
"River of Power!" The three attacks struck Vikaralamon, and the three tamers were momentarily blinded by the release of energy.  
  
"Did we get him?" Jeri yelled.  
  
"I think...no..." henry gasped, as he saw Vikaralamon continue moving away, a scorched spot on his side the only sign of the attack. "That was our best attack, and it did nothing..."  
  
"Henry..." Takato whispered. "No. We have to keep fighting! Growlmon!" Roaring, Growlmon charged, slashing away with his arm blades. Getting annoyed, Vikaralamon twisted his head around, and launched a Fusion Ball at Growlmon, slamming him into a wall. Growlmon slumped to the street, apparently unconscious. "Growlmon!" The other two digimon, enraged now, started attacking wildly.  
  
Takato ran over to his partner. "Growlmon...Growlmon! You have to get up! Everyone's depending on you! GROWLMON!"  
  
==Hypnos  
  
"Okay, we're ready to cut the power!" Dolphin yelled. "Babel, are you sure those lockouts you set on the backups will work?"  
  
"Yes!" Babel called back. "Do it! Once we cut the power to the mainframe, we can shut off the Juggernaut program remotely, and maybe send that giant pig packing!" He wiped some sweat off his brow. "Man, Tao picked a lousy time to leave town for the week."  
  
"Deal with it!" Reilly cut in. "Talli, anything?"  
  
Talli looked up from the remote tracking van, which was able to track digimon within a few blocks. "He's still approaching and...my god, there's a huge power spike!"  
  
Reilly glanced in the direction of the park, where Makuramon had gone. "What's happening?" she gasped.  
  
==  
  
Takato's, Jeri's, and Henry's D-arcs started glowing brightly; Takato noticed a small red triangle, no, a prism, spinning on the small screen. He had a card in his hand. As he watched, the card turned blue, resembling the card he had used to bring Guilmon to life seemingly a lifetime ago. The words came to him, as if he had always known them.  
  
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution, activate!"  
  
Growlmon's eyes snapped open, as he felt the power rip through him. "Growlmon, matrix digivolve to..." The other tamers watched, stunned, as Growlmon's body got even larger, his arms and torso were wrapped in silvery armour, as was his lower jaw.  
  
"WARGROWLMON!"   
  
Vikaralamon ceased moving, twisted his huge body around, adding to the collateral damage. "How is this possible? No one has digivolved since the Catalyst left us."  
  
"Then call me 'No One'!" Wargrowlmon roared. "Let's do it, Takatomon!"  
  
"Right! Plasma Blades!" The edged blades on Wargrowlmon's arms glowed bright blue, and the rocket thrusters on his back lit up, moving Wargrowlmon, slowly at first, but rapidly picking up speed, towards the giant Deva.  
  
"How pathetic! Boar Bog!" Wargrowlmon simply ripped through the attack. "This is not possible! Fusion Ball!" This attack Wargrowlmon batted away.  
  
Henry looked at Takato, noticing that his movements seemed to be matching Wargrowlmon's. Even now, the boy's arms were held out in front of him, as if he were the one attacking, not Wargrowlmon.   
  
"What's he doing?" Jeri asked.  
  
"They're linked." Leomon gasped. "What one does or feels, the other one matches." He winced as he saw Vikaralamon fire another Fusion Ball at Wargrowlmon, driving the digimon back. Takato's face seemed to reflect Wargrowlmon's struggle, and Jeri wondered why Takato was trying to bring his arms together.  
  
"Leomon, attack!" Jeri suddenly said. "We have to distract Vikaralamon so Wargrowlmon can get through!" Leomon nodded, and began firing blasts of energy. Henry told Gargomon to do the same thing. As luck had it, one of Gargomon's shots caught Vikaralamon in the eye, breaking the Deva's concentration.  
  
With a roar, Takato suddenly flung his arms apart, as did Wargrowlmon, shattering the Fusion Ball Vikaralamon was pushing him away with. Another swipe, and a huge gash was opened up in Vikaralamon's side, just above his eye. "Time to bring home the bacon!" Wargrowlmon roared. "Atomic..."  
  
"BLASTER!" Takato completed. The two weapon ports on either side of Wargrowlmon's torso lit up, drawing in energy, then firing two bright red beams of energy, right into Vikaralamon's wound. The pig Deva roared in pain, then disintegrated. The beams of energy dissipated, and Wargrowlmon reverted to Guilmon.  
  
"All right!" Takato yelled, running over to Guilmon. "You did great!"  
  
"I'm glad, Takato. Can we eat now?"  
  
Takato nodded. "Sure, you can...hey, you didn't call me 'Takatomon'."  
  
Henry was about to say something when his cellphone rang. "Hello? Rika, what's..." Henry's face went dark. "We'll be right there." He hung up. "We have to get to the park. Calumon's been hurt!"  
  
==Next Episode  
  
While Takato, Henry, and Jeri and their digimon were battling Vikaralamon, Rika, Hitomi, and Alice were racing to save Calumon and Unown from both Impmon and Makuramon. But a desperate action results in Calumon being mortally wounded, and another digimon reaches the Ultimate level. Next time, on Digicross Tamers, Episode 17...  
  
'Don't die, Calumon! Unown's fateful merger!" 


	17. Digicross Tamers 17 Don't die, Calumon! ...

Impmon stared at the large dog, waiting for it to make the first move. "Well, pooch? I'm waiting' here. You gonna attack, or should I just go find a fire hydrant for ya?"  
  
Dobermon glared back. "If you want Calumon that badly, then you will have to go through me, pup." He glanced at Alice. 'Get Calumon and Unown out of here. I will deal with this one."  
  
"Hey, no one gave ya permission to leave, blondie!" Impmon snarled, hurling a fireball at Alice. Unown shot up and blocked the attack. "Why leave, when you can see me grab your pet's data?"  
  
Dobermon growled, a low, menacing sound that made Impmon step back. "No one threatens Alice. DARKNESS-" There was a sudden rush of wind, and the area around the two digimon was wrapped in darkness.  
  
"AND LIGHT!" Out of the darkness, there was a white flash, as Impmon was sent flying out of the darkness. Dobermon charged out of the field a second later, white flame trailing from his mouth and claws. He advanced on Impmon, muscles tensing for the next attack.  
  
"So, you like playing with the lights out, huh?" Impmon muttered, staggering to get up. "Night...OF FIRE!" He summoned several black spheres, which shot away from him and circled Dobermon, then exploded in a cloud of fire.  
  
"Aegis!" Alice yelled, slashing a card through her digivice. There was a slivery glow, and Dobermon stepped out of the conflagration, only mildly singed (B0-265; It's really a card, I'm not making it up! -ed)  
  
"If you're so eager to stay, bring it on!" Impmon yelled, running towards Dobermon, fists clenched, a wild war-cry on his lips.  
  
Digicross Tamers episode 17  
  
'Don't die, Calumon! Unown's fateful merger!'  
  
Kyuubimon, carrying Rika and Hitomi, ran as fast as she could towards the park. Rika resisted the urge to look back; she knew (though she'd never admit it) that she had to go after Makuramon; Kyuubimon was much faster than any of the other digimon. She just hated to run from a fight. Kyuubimon shouted a warning; Rika felt Hitomi tighten her grip a bit. "Relax," she said to Hitomi, "we won't fall off."  
  
"Sorry." Hitomi replied.  
  
"Don't mind her." Eevee said, as he came by, riding Noctowl. "She's like this all the time. Doesn't help that Arcanine's such a show off in the speed department."  
  
"Hey, about Akira...what's she like?" Rika asked, curiosity spurred by Eevee's comment.  
  
"I haven't seen her in a few years; her parents are really skilled pokemon trainers and battlers, so they travel a lot. But Akira wasn't really into battling, she just liked to dance. I guess she just stuck with it."  
  
"Did she always have Renamon for a partner?"  
  
Hitomi nodded. "Yes, just like her mom; but Akira and her Renamon feel the same about fighting; I don't think I've even heard of Akira's Renamon digivolving. Eevee, can you and Noctowl go on ahead? Try to warn Calumon and Unown. We'll be there soon."  
  
"See ya there, 'Tails!" Eevee called, as Noctowl flew up and over the trees.  
  
"I'll take that as a challenge, plushie." Kyuubimon growled in reply, increasing her pace.  
  
==  
  
Both Impmon and Dobermon had discarded their attacks and had switched to simple tackling, biting, and punching. Impmon was surprisingly strong, Dobermon realized. Loading all that data had increased his power, to a degree.  
  
"Don't go checking out on me yet, Benji." Impmon gasped. "When I'm...through with you, the little creampuff is gonna be dessert." He glared at Alice, still standing in front of Calumon and Unown, card in hand, ready to power up Dobermon if needed.  
  
A long staff landed between the two combatants, driving itself into the asphalt a few inches. Everyone there looked up, wondering who had thrown it.  
  
"A digimon serving a human." Makuramon spat, staring at Dobermon. "How pathetic. And your human is clinging to the Catalyst as if it were some toy. Give him here, girl!"  
  
"Noooo!" Calumon whined. "Don't let him get me!" He turned and ran, Unown following him. Alice turned to go after the two, but she was knocked over by Makuramon, as he retrieved his staff and gave chase.  
  
"Come back here, you little freak!" Impmon yelled. "No one's loading your data but me!"  
  
"Pathetic!" Makuramon yelled. "Primal Orb!" A small steel sphere flew at Impmon, who was caught by it and sent flying. The small orb returned, along with Dobermon, growling a challenge. Getting annoyed, Makuramon swung his staff, which Dobermon ducked under, then dashed ahead, going for Makuramon's throat. The jaws clamped down, only Makuramon's hands holding Dobermon's mouth open, keeping the teeth from sinking in. The staff clattered noisily to the ground. "Get off me you beast! I will not be humiliated by some worthless lapdog to a human!" With an effort, he got his legs under Dobermon, and started kicking. This caused the dog to loosen its death-grip, giving the Deva a chance to use another Primal Orb to push Dobermon away. Makuramon grabbed his staff, and brought one of the metal-tipped ends down on Dobermon's back, knocking the digimon out.  
  
"Dobermon!" Alice called, running over. Makuramon readied his staff, intent on finishing the human off, when he heard Impmon attacking Unown and Calumon. "There is no peace in this wretched world! Do not touch the catalyst, you depraved rodent!" He shouted, running after Impmon.  
  
"That's MISTER Rodent to you! Bada Boom!"  
  
Angrily, Makuramon batted the fireball away with his staff. "That will DO, worm! Kneel before the power of the Devas!" In his left hand, he hefted a small green sphere. "Treasure Ball!" He hurled it, and Impmon was trapped inside an emerald crystal, unable to move. "Stay back, churl, or you shall share his fate!" he snarled at Dobermon. Dobermon growled, not backing away. "At least you have some pride, even if you do serve a human. Treasure-"  
  
"Foxtail Inferno!"  
  
"Zap Cannon!"  
  
The two attacks struck Makuramon, both incinerating and electrocuting him. "Who dares?" Makuramon shouted, recovering.  
  
"We do." Jolteon growled. "We still have unfinished business."  
  
==New Bark Town  
  
Kari rocked her baby, Emiko, to sleep. "Time for your nap. Just rest now." she whispered. Emiko kicked a few times, then nodded off. Gently, Kari placed Emiko in the crib. "It won't be long before you're too big for that crib." she said, looking at her daughter. Beside her, a small pink blob slept beside her. Motimon had appeared as Emiko's partner just after she had been brought back from the Dark Ocean after the digimon there had tried to capture her.  
  
She heard voices outside. She glanced out the window in Emiko's room, and saw several digimon there, along with their trainers. Tai and Sora were visiting again, and their children, Sakura and Yamato. Sakura and her partner, Koromon, was practicing against Kotemon, and Tai's Agumon. Yamato was off to the side, watching the fight with his partner, Palmon. She went to the lab, wondering where Kyoko was.  
  
Kyoko wasn't there, but Izzy, Tai, and Sora were, still working on trying to establish a stable portal to the digital world where Hitomi was trapped. "Izzy? We do have company." She was about to go on, but stopped when she saw Izzy's expression. He tried to say something, but couldn't.  
  
Tai nodded to Izzy, and walked over. "Kari, there's been a problem." He took a deep breath, then went on. "Izzy's been checking the digital world that's linked to the world that Hitomi is trapped on. The digital world there is really messed up, worse even than the one that Ryoko's on...Unless things change, the Digital World there will collapse and Hitomi will be trapped on the other earth forever."  
  
"Do...do Kyle and June know yet?"  
  
Sora shook her head. "No. So far, it's just us. I think we should wait until we're sure. Ken and Seth are in the Human World, doing some consulting there."  
  
Two others did hear that. Houndour stepped back from the doorway, frowning. "So, that's what's going on." Grimly, she went outside.  
  
On the other side of the hallway, out of sight of everyone, Kyoko shook her head. "No..." she whispered.  
  
==Tamers world  
  
Jolteon howled, firing bolts of lightning at Makuramon, while Kyuubimon launched wave after wave of fireballs. Dobermon moved in, and the three champion digimon kept attacking the Deva in what looked like a never-ending wave of energy blasts.  
  
Still trapped in his emerald cage, Impmon fumed, struggling to get out. He could see those other humans leading Calumon and Unown away. That blonde girl. The weird redhead. And Rika...  
  
Rika Nonaka...  
  
The one who said he was harmless....Him, Impmon, HARMLESS!  
  
"No....No, I won't...ACCEPT IT!" Impmon shouted, and kept on screaming, willing the prison he was in to let him out. The emerald walls began to crack.  
  
==  
  
Miles away, Isao Akiyama, a.k.a. Yamaki, was sitting in a private government 'rest facility'. Suddenly, he looked up, sudden feeling of dread filling him.  
  
==  
  
The combat stopped as soon as Impmon started shouting. Of the fighters, Makuramon was the most surprised by Impmon's surge of power. "No...no one can break my Treasure Ball attack..."  
  
"I have had ENOUGH!" Impmon roared. With a final surge, the cage holding him shattered, sending green shards of crystal everywhere; Rika, Hitomi, and Alice took cover, while the digimon all dodged to the best of their ability.  
  
Impmon took a slow, thunderous step towards Makuramon. "No one...and I mean NO ONE calls me weak. EVER!" As he walked, a black aura formed around Impmon. It was hazy and hard to make out, but it suggested something tall, humanoid, and winged. "DIE!" he shouted at Makuramon, launching a wave of fire. The humans wrinkled their noses as the stench of brimstone hit them. The fire blast hit Makuramon; though not lethal, the Deva was badly injured, and quickly ran for cover, terrified by the power Impmon had shown.  
  
Impmon stood there for a few seconds, fearsome aura still surrounding him. He fixed Renamon and Rika with a gaze, whispering "You're next." then passed out.  
  
"What was that?" Alice gasped.  
  
"It looked like he was about to digivolve." Hitomi replied. "But he didn't have enough power to do it." Rika said nothing, shaken by Impmon's display.  
  
"He was all scary." Calumon said, walking over to Rika. "I don't think he's as harmless as you and Renamon said he was."  
  
Kyuubimon glanced at Impmon's still form. "We'll have to be careful around him. Even without Yamaki, he was strong enough to injure a Deva."  
  
"Okay, what IS a Deva?" Jolteon asked. "That's all that Planet of the Apes reject could talk about."  
  
"I think we should ask Gabumon." Kyuubimon answered. "He seems to know what all this might be about." She glanced at Calumon and Unown, watching Impmon. "And what Calumon's role in this is."  
  
"The Catalyst is our final answer!" Makuramon cried, appearing out of nowhere. Jolteon, Kyuubimon, and Dobermon tried to grab him, but he was too swift. Driven by desperation, Makuramon pole-vaulted over the three digimon, and made a run at the humans. "Primal Orb!" At that range, there was no time for any of the girls to dodge.  
  
Calumon jumped, and instantly threw up a protective field to block the attack. "No!" Makuramon shrieked as his attack struck the wall. Calumon screamed in pain, the symbol on his forehead flaring with red light. Unown shrieked, and let off a massive blast of energy. It did little damage to Makuramon, but it did create a distraction allowing Kyuubimon, Jolteon, and Dobermon to attack Makuramon. Rika picked up Calumon, barely unconscious.  
  
"P...Pathetic..." Makuramon wheezed, dodging a strike from Jolteon. "No one...can defeat the Devas. Even now, Vikaralamon is destroying your pathetic friends and their traitorous digimon...you cannot win..."  
  
"You're wrong..." Calumon whispered. "You're...wrong..." He struggled to get up.  
  
"Don't move." Rika whispered.  
  
"No...I can....CRYSTAL MATRIX ACTIVATE!" The red triangle on Calumon's head flared to life, blinding everyone with a bright red light.  
  
"A...Alice..." Dobermon gasped.  
  
Still half blinded, Alice used another card, hoping it would power up Dobermon somehow.  
  
"Dobermon, Matrix digivolve to...BLACK WERE GARURUMON!"  
  
"Evolution..." Makuramon gasped. "But....No, they can't use the power of the Catalyst!"  
  
The black-furred digimon responded by punching Makuramon in the face, sending the Deva flying. Before he could recover, Black Were Garurumon jumped into the air, left leg glowing silver. "Crescent Moon Kick!" He made a kicking motion, and a silvery arc of energy shot out, striking Makuramon and destroying him. The victorious digimon landed, glowed, and changed into a small dog that staggered over to Alice.  
  
"Labramon?" Hitomi wondered. "But...Calumon!" She heard Rika calling Henry on her cellphone but paid no attention. Jolteon and Kyuubimon switched back to their rookie forms, and ran over to check on Calumon.  
  
"Why?" Alice asked Calumon, now lying very still in Rika's arms.  
  
"'Cause you're all my friends, and I wanted to help, silly. But I'm really tired now, I think I need a nap." Unown hovered by Calumon, making squeaking noises. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere, really." More noises from Unown. "But if you do that..." Calumon nodded, smiling. "If you're sure. Thank you Unown. I love you..." Calumon's body went limp. Rika gasped, but then looked up as she saw Unown hover over Calumon, its own body going blurry.  
  
"They're merging." Renamon whispered, stunned. After a few seconds, Unown's body vanished, and Calumon sat up. "Calumon?"  
  
"Yes? Why's everyone looking so...huh? Oh, okay, I'll tell her. Hitomi, Unown says he's sorry he can't help you go home right now, but this was the only way to save my life. Huh? Oh, right. And he says that he's glad you're alright, and that we won't be like this forever. He thinks. You're not sure? But once he's out, he'll be glad to help you get home, as long as he can stay here and play with me. Well, gee, that sounds fair. Doesn't it?"  
  
"Umm...why am I missing half the conversation?" Eevee asked.  
  
Hitomi indicated the small symbol on Calumon's forehead. The central triangle had faded a bit, and a small picture of Unown was superimposed on it. "Unown's inside Calumon now." she explained.  
  
"I thought voices in your head was a bad thing..." Eevee said. The ground started to shake. "Now what?"  
  
The pathway a few yards from them exploded, and a giant red-and-silver lizard surged out of the ground, a boy hanging onto its head. "Alright, where is he?" Wargrowlmon roared.  
  
"Subtle, goggle-head. Real subtle." Rika moaned.  
  
==  
  
An hour later, everyone had calmed down, Janyu had arrived, along with Dolphin, and explanations were exchanged; the tamers realized that both digivolutions had happened when Calumon had used his power. It was there that Renamon turned to Gabumon and, rather harshly, demanded an explanation.  
  
"Very well." Gabumon said. "I had hoped this day would not come-"  
  
"It has." Renamon cut him off. "Why have the Devas come here?"  
  
"Perhaps if we knew who these Devas were?" Janyu suggested.  
  
"Very well. First you must know about how the Digital World is constructed." Gabumon traced a series of circles in the ground. "There are several layers to the digital world; the outermost one is where digimon go to try to come to the Real World. The deeper you go in, the more powerful digimon there are.  
  
At the center of the Digital World is the Core, which is guarded by the Digimon Sovereign; four ancient digimon of incredible power: Azulongmon, Baihumon, Zhuquiamon, and Ebonwumon. Immediately beneath them are 12 Ultimate level digimon, called the Devas by those digimon that know of them. They don't interact with the other layers of the Digital World too much, so I do not know their primary mission."  
  
"So, why are they here, and why do they keep calling Calumon the Catalyst?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"As I told Takato and the others, Calumon is the very essence of digivolution, given physical form; once he was created, no digimon could digivolve."  
  
"But we digivolve all the time." Terriermon interrupted.   
  
"Most digimon do not have humans as partners." Gabumon answered. "In fact, many digimon in the levels towards the Core don't like humans, and see them as a necessary evil only. Many of the Devas feel that way too."  
  
"Ironic." Janyu muttered. "When we created the initial AI program that formed the basis of your digital world, we incorporated elements from human myths and legends. Didn't Curly think of using the Deva legends?"  
  
Dolphin nodded. "Yeah. I'll never program a computer again."  
  
"If we can continue?" Renamon asked. Rika glanced at Renamon, wondering why her partner was so edgy all of a sudden.  
  
"Yes." Gabumon coughed. "About a year ago, your time, there was trouble in the Core-ward layers of the digital world. For no reason, digimon went crazy and started attacking and destroying everything in sight. The Sovereign sent most of the Devas in, but...well, you saw what happened today. Makuramon must have been sent ahead to try and open the way for the rest of the Devas to come through and attack this world."  
  
Jeri looked up. "Vikaralamon said just that! But why would a digimon want to destroy the Digital World?" She glanced at Hitomi, who shrugged helplessly. "And why did he want to destroy this world? He said something about how since humans created the digital world, they would have to be destroyed to."  
  
"I don't know. But the Sovereigns hoped to slow the chaos down by taking away everyone's power to digivolve, so they created Calumon. Then he came here and the Devas followed him."  
  
"Are all the Devas evil now?" Renamon asked quietly.  
  
"There are a few uncorrupted Devas left, and some digimon are fighting them, but it does not look good."  
  
"So there's at most ten more Devas still to come here?" Henry asked, voice grim. Gabumon nodded. "Are they all that powerful?"  
  
"Vikaralamon was, physically the strongest, and Makuramon the most cunning, but all of the Devas are very powerful. Antylamon and Majiramon-"  
  
"What about Antylamon?" Renamon demanded.  
  
"The two of them nearly destroyed me." Gabumon answered slowly.  
  
"I see." Renamon said coldly, standing up. Without another word, she left. Silently, Rika got up and went after her partner.  
  
"Umm..." Takato hazarded. "So, how'd you escape, Gabumon?"  
  
"Ryo and Cyberdramon."  
  
"Ryo and...You don't mean Ryo Akiyama, do you?" Henry asked incredulously.  
  
"He's alive..." Takato gasped. "In the digital world."  
  
==Hypnos headquarters  
  
Once Vikaralamon and Makuramon were dealt with, the remaining staff was able to start rebuilding the Hypnos mainframe; they predicted that the Scanning Dome would be online in just under a week.  
  
All that was driven from Reilly's mind as she sat in her chair, listening to Gabumon repeat his tale. "Y-You're sure it was him?" She indicated a picture on her desk.  
  
"Yes." Gabumon replied. "That's him exactly."  
  
"I see. Could you all excuse me? I have to make a phone call." The tamers nodded, and left the office. Hands shaking, Reilly dialed a number. "Hello? Yes, this is Chief Reilly. Room 1231, please?" There were a few clicks, then a familiar voice answered.  
  
"Reilly." Yamaki's voice was flat, as if he'd never left. Reilly started to speak, nearly lost her composure, then got it back. "I trust there's a good reason for this call?"  
  
"Ryo's alive."  
  
==Next Episode  
  
While taking a weekend trip Rika and Hitomi talk about the Pokemon world, and Renamon and Eevee talk about Antylamon. While they're gone, Henry is forced to fight against Sinduramon, unable to get help from the other Tamers. Next time, on Digicross Tamers, episode 18:  
  
'Colonel Sinduramon, Original Recipe.'  
  
(It's the best I could do for a title! Honest!)  
  
Also, coming up (when I get around to it):  
  
When Kyoko Kamiya runs away from home, she is accidentally transported to (wait for it) another digital world! It is up to Kate Evanick, daughter of Kyle (No, the OTHER Kyle) and Casey Evanick, and Yamato Takenouchi to save her. Their only source of help is Scott Evans, a player in the online Digital World computer game that the digidestined find themselves in. It's the first Digicross Special!  
  
'Resist Parasimon!'  
  
And, as if that weren't enough...  
  
When Etemonkey (From V-Tamer) comes back to life, he manages to evolve himself to King Etemon, and goes after Taichi Yagami and his partner, Zeromaru! It's crossover madness as we meet Taichi from V-Tamer, and see Takuya Kanbara, Takato Matsuki, and Takeru Motomiya take on one of the nuttiest digimon ever! It's the second Tamers Special...  
  
"Digicross: Forever Goggle-head!"  
  
-Special guest appearance by Kouta and Dorumon from Digimon Chronicle. 


	18. Digicross Tamers 18 'Colonel Sinduramon,...

Hitomi blinked. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand?" She, along with Ms. Asaji, were out shopping when they had run into Rika and Rumiko. The schools in the area had closed owing to the amount of damage Vikaralamon had done during his battle in the center of town.  
  
Rumiko Nonaka smiled, completely oblivious to the incredulous look her own daughter was giving her. "Please, why don't you come with us, Hitomi? I know this nice little place in the mountains with a lake and a nice house to sleep in with running water and proper beds."  
  
Nami smiled a bit. "Go ahead, Hitomi. The school's going to be closed for repairs until Tuesday."  
  
"Oh, you can come too, Nami, I insist! After that dreadful monster appeared and started smashing up everything, you should get some sort of vacation! Oh, you two must have been terrified." Nami nodded helplessly.  
  
"Then it's settled." Rumiko declared. "Pack your swimsuits, we'll leave tomorrow!"  
  
"Umm..." Hitomi answered, a bit hesitant. "I don't have a swimsuit."  
  
"You don't? Well, then, we'll have to get you one!" Eagerly, Rumiko grabbed Hitomi by the arm and dragged her into the nearest store, leaving Nami and Rika behind.  
  
Well, Rika thought, it could have been me.  
  
==  
  
Digicross Tamers episode 18  
  
'Colonel Sinduramon, Original Recipe.'  
  
==  
  
Janyu Wong sat at the computer terminal, face grim. "So," Terriermon piped up, "how bad is it? We did just beat the bad guys, right? Um...we did, right?" Standing beside his father, Henry tried to fight the feeling of dread that had been building since he and Terriermon had been called in.  
  
"Vikaralamon and Makuramon, yes. But there's a bigger problem." Janyu indicated his computer screen. "Yamaki designed the Juggernaut system to act as a sort of digital vaccuum, sucking up all the digimon over a given area and destroy them."  
  
"Yeah." Henry nodded. "But I thought it was shut down."  
  
"Makuramon was able to reactivate it and modify the program. Instead of pulling digimon into it, the new Juggernaut system is able to create portals to the digital world, allowing powerful digimon to come through."  
  
"They couldn't before?" Terriermon asked.  
  
"No. The stronger the digimon is, the more power is needed to get through the barrier separating the two worlds. But we're getting away from the real problem, specifically that the barrier is still open."  
  
Henry gasped. "But I thought that you and the others managed to shut down Makuramon's program!"  
  
"We did," Janyu replied sadly, "but Makuramon's modified Juggernaut managed to punch several holes in the wall dividing our two worlds, and those holes are still there."  
  
"How many?"  
  
Janyu shrugged. "Maybe fifteen, maybe only five, there's no way to tell. We can't really detect them until some digimon uses it to come through. You'd better let the other tamers know about this; it's possible that another of these Devas might come through seeking revenge for Vikaralamon and Makuramon."  
  
"Great." Henry groaned.  
  
==Park, late afternoon  
  
Henry finished telling everyone there what his father had found out. "So, we could be facing even more Devas?" Jeri asked. "Makuramon and Vikaralamon were bad enough."  
  
"Hey, we did manage to beat two of them." Takato replied. "Of course, I haven't been able to find another blue card since Guilmon Matrix Digivolved. Come to think of it, I don't remember putting one in my deck, either."  
  
"When Calumon released that energy after Makuramon attacked him," Hitomi said, "it must have changed one of your cards. How is Calumon?"  
  
Rika shrugged. "See for yourself. He's still flying around. He is talking to himself a lot though."  
  
Renamon nodded. "Unown's consciousness must have survived its merger with Calumon."  
  
Hitomi nodded, shoulders sagging a bit. "Hey, don't worry!" Jeri said. "I'm sure we can get you home. Hey, why not use that Juggernaut program to open a door to Hitomi's world?"  
  
"Without knowing where Hitomi's home is, it'd be too risky." Henry replied. "We might open a door to someplace worse."  
  
"Yeah," Takato agreed, "like that skin switching world."  
  
Rika sighed. "Gogglehead." she muttered.  
  
"So, what do you know about the Devas, Gabumon?" Jeri asked.  
  
Gabumon sighed, then began. "The twelve Devas serve the Digimon Sovereign, the four strongest digimon in the Digital World. Makuramon and Vikaralamon you know. The other ten are Chatsuramon, Khumbiramon, Indramon, Vajramon, Pajiramon, Majiramon, Sinduramon, Sandiramon, Mihiramon, and Antylamon."  
  
Renamon stood up. "Antylamon would never be like them." she replied, a bit forcefully.  
  
Gabumon looked confused. "I am sorry, but she and Majiramon were the last two digimon that I fought before I came to this world."  
  
"I do not accept that." Renamon answered, getting up and leaving. Rika quickly got up and followed her partner.  
  
"Huh?" Jeri wondered, confused by Renamon's behaviour.  
  
Takato decided to change the subject back to the Devas. "So, there's 12 of them to fight?"  
  
"I do not know. I have heard that some of them are still free, and fight against their brethren. But I do not know which ones."  
  
==Saturday, Matsuki bakery.  
  
"Boy, some people have all the luck." Takato griped. He had learned last night that Hitomi and Rika would be away for the weekend, taking a vacation in the mountains. He, on the other hand, was stuck in the kitchen, making bread. The store had been emptied yesterday by people eager to leave the city, and Takato was pressed into service that morning. "I get a vacation from school, and I get drafted into bread duty. At least Guilmon isn't here. There isn't enough bread in the city to fill him up." He decided to vent his frustrations on the latest batch of dough, kneading it furiously. "Now, where did I put the flour?"  
  
"Here." Without thinking, Takato took the small can of flour, and sprinkled it on the dough. After a second, he realized that he knew that voice. "Jeri?"  
  
Jeri smiled brightly, and Takato noticed that she had put on a spare apron and hairnet. "My parents came over to do some shopping, and I heard you were stuck in here for the day. So I thought I'd come help out. If you don't mind."  
  
"Mind? Me? No, go right ahead, Jeri." Takato answered, hoping that he didn't look like a total goof (He did -ed).  
  
Takato's dad glanced into the kitchen, saw the two working, and went back to the shop, smiling. "Yeah, he's gone all goofy. So what do we do about it?"  
  
Jeri's stepmom shrugged. "Well, Takato is a sweet boy, and I think I can trust him with my daughter."  
  
"I don't know. If Yoshie found out about this, she'd pack Takato away to Hokkaido or something."  
  
"Satoshi's the same way. So, my order will be done in about two hours?"  
  
==Mountains.  
  
It was cold in the lake, but Hitomi found that she didn't mind too much. She swam for a few minutes, then made her way back to the small dock where Rika was sitting. Hitomi climbed out of the water, shivering. "Thanks." she said as Rika handed her a towel. 'Are you going to go for a swim?"  
  
Rika looked over the lake, remembering. I haven't swum since..." she stopped, frowning. "...in a long time." she amended, voice hard.  
  
"I...I'm sorry!" Hitomi answered.   
  
Rika groaned. "Will you QUIT apologizing, already?" Hitomi stammered, trying to reply. "Oh for...look, it's not your fault, alright? I just don't want to talk about it." Hitomi nodded, and the two sat on the dock, both awkwardly silent.  
  
Finally, Rika spoke up. "Hey, tell me about your world. Are there a lot of digimon battles there?"  
  
Hitomi shook her head. "Not like here; the battles back home are formalized now, and never to the death of a pokemon or digimon. Mom runs the Pokemon Gym in my home town, she's won a lot of battles with her pokemon and her partner, Elecmon."  
  
"And you're next in line?"  
  
"No." Hitomi answered. "I don't really like battling, except when I have to. I want to become a Monster Watcher, travel the world, and see lots of pokemon and digimon."  
  
"And Akira?"  
  
"Like I said before, I haven't seen her in years. I talked to her again a few days before we came here; she and her Renamon are really into dance. But her mom and dad are part of the Elite Four."  
  
Rika blinked. "The who?"  
  
"The Elite Four; they're a group of really skilled pokemon trainers, the best in the world. Akira's parents, Caryl Kyashi and Ryo Akiyama, are two of them. Miss Kyashi has a Renamon as well, she's more like the Renamon that you're partners with. I think you might like Miss Kyashi. She's a really good battler, like you are."  
  
==  
  
Renamon glanced from the tree branch she was standing on. "They seem to be getting along well."  
  
Eevee shrugged. "Eh, they're not killing each other; that's good enough for me."  
  
"Rika is not as cold-hearted as you think she is." Renamon replied. "She..." Renamon stopped abruptly.  
  
"'She' what?" Eevee asked. "Come on, don't leave me hanging here."  
  
"I have already said too much. I will not reveal what I know."  
  
Eevee sighed, exasperated. "Come on. I promise I won't tell anyone. Not even Noctowl."  
  
Renamon looked away for a moment, then looked at Eevee. "Rika's father left her and her mother; it was a few years before I came to this world. Rika...didn't take it too well."  
  
Eevee nodded. "Fair enough."  
  
Renamon looked at Eevee, curious. "That's it? No snide comebacks?"  
  
"Do I look like Terriermon? I do know the value of discretion, thank you."  
  
Renamon looked at Eevee again. "You are not much like Hitomi. She seems a bit more..."  
  
"Shy? Yeah. All her friends got their partner monsters when they were born; but I didn't meet Hitomi until just over a year ago. From what I hear, she got teased a lot before that."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah. Well, both her folks are...well, they were the first digidestined. I think she felt like she was living in their shadow or something." Eevee smiled a bit. "Not that Kyle would let her stay miserable; if it wasn't for June, I think he'd have spoiled Hitomi rotten."  
  
==Tokyo Park  
  
Henry sighed, watching Terriermon playing with Guilmon and Calumon. Normally, he'd be playing with Terriermon as well (well, more like keeping him out of trouble. -ed), but his father's news had cast a pall over everything. It seemed like every shadow held a Deva, ready to attack. Renamon's reaction to Gabumon's information was troubling him too. "I wonder if she knew Antylamon before she came here." Henry mused.  
  
"Hey, Henry!" Terriermon yelled. "Wanna help me find Calumon?" Henry didn't respond. Curious, Terriermon wandered over. "Henry? Hello?" Still nothing. "HENRY!"  
  
"GAAH!" Henry yelped, jumping. "Don't do that!"  
  
"Well, you were spacing out, what was I supposed to do? Tell Guilmon there was a hamburger in your socks?"  
  
"Don't you dare." Henry replied evenly. "I'm just thinking about what dad told me."  
  
"About the Devas? Moumantai, Henry. I'll just digivolve and send 'em running, no problem."  
  
"How? When Doberman and Growlmon digivolved to Black WereGarurumon and WarGrowlmon, they used blue cards to power the evolution; I've checked all my cards, and I haven't found anything that matches that kind of card."  
  
"Not even a Blue Meramon?"  
  
"Funny, Terriermon, real funny." Henry slumped down on the bench. "And we don't even know why they're coming here." He had tried asking Calumon directly, but that hadn't worked. Calumon knew (now) that he had the power to digivolve other digimon, and that the Devas were after him for that power, but little else. "Any sign of Impmon?"  
  
Terriermon shook his head. "Not yet. Maybe Rika, Hitomi, and your girlfriend scared them off."  
  
"Will you just quit it?" Henry growled. In the distance there was a huge crashing noise. Curious, Henry got up and ran to one of the park entrances. "What happened?" he asked a passerby.  
  
"Power failure." the man replied. "All the traffic lights just went dead. Whole place is having a massive brownout, no one can explain it." Henry looked past the man, and saw that there was a massive pileup of cars. No-one looked to be badly hurt, but there were a lot of cracked bumpers, wrecked taillights, and horns being honked. Not to mention a few words being hurled that Henry was sure he wasn't supposed to be hearing yet.  
  
Terriermon peeked around the wall. "Henry! I think there's a digimon nearby!"  
  
==Mountains  
  
"So, there's no evil digimon where you come from? No need to fight?" Rika asked.  
  
"No," Hitomi answered, "there are still some troubles. Some of it is from the Dark Ocean, where a lot of really powerful evil digimon live. Sometimes, trouble just appears out of nowhere. Ryoko and Hiroki are off in another digital world, fighting an evil digimon there with the digidestined native to that world. And the other digidestined I know always seem to be rushing off into some sort of adventure. Usually, it's a pokemon journey, but sometimes, they fight, too."  
  
Rika was intrigued. "Oh?"  
  
Hitomi nodded. "Well, one adventure happened about a year ago. It was when Eevee chose me to be his partner, and Aunt Kari was kidnapped by some evil digimon..."  
  
"Rika! Hitomi!" Rumiko yelled from the house. "Lunch is ready! I made it myself, come on in before it cools off!"  
  
Rika shook her head. "In mom's case, that might be an improvement." she muttered. "Tell me about it after lunch, alright? You need to practice."  
  
"Practice what?"  
  
Rika smirked. "You have some potential as a Tamer, but you're still hopeless at the card game. I think I can teach you a few tricks."  
  
==Matsuki Bakery.  
  
Yoshie walked over to the entrance to the bakery. "Takato? That order done yet?"  
  
"Just about mom! No, Jeri, put that over there to cool off first. That's it."  
  
Nervous, Yoshie glanced at her husband. "Is this wise? Takato's not old enough to-"  
  
"He'll be just fine." Takehiro replied, smiling. "I don't think he'll do anything improper. You've raised him too well. Even if you won't let him have a pet."  
  
"He's too young for the responsibility!"  
  
"Yoshie." Takehiro replied. "Trust him. Once our son grows out of this silly digimon thing, I'm sure he'll be a well adjusted boy." The lights chose that moment to go out. "Takato? what happened?"  
  
"I don't know!" Takato answered, still a bit startled. "All the power just went off."  
  
"Well, turn off the gas, alright? I'll go check the circuit breakers."  
  
In the bakery, the two children looked around. "Takato?" Jeri asked, a bit nervous.  
  
"One sec...OW!" There was a sharp bang as Takato's head hit the underside of the countertop. "Well, the gas is off."  
  
"Are you alright?" Jeri made her way over to Takato. There was a small window in the far wall, but it wasn't letting much light in.  
  
Caught in a dark room with Jeri, Takato thought. There are worse things...a bright light being shone into the kitchen interrupted Takato's thoughts. "Takato?" his mother asked. "What was that noise?"  
  
"Ms. Matsuki!" Jeri answered. "Takato hit his head on the counter when he was turning the gas off!"  
  
"I'm fine mom, really..." Perfect timing, Takato thought sourly.  
  
==  
  
Henry's cellphone rang. "Dad? Yeah, I know. Terriermon's with me, and he thinks there's a digimon involved, so I'm going to have a look. I promise I'll be careful. Right, see you later."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Dad says that Hypnos is still offline, so they can't tell us anything, and the streets are blocked off, so Takato and Jeri can't get to us. Looks like it's just you and me."  
  
Terriermon shrugged. "Eh, no problem. What are we fighting?"  
  
"No idea; without power, they can't use the scanner to determine the type of digimon. we're facing. Or how many. They did get a report that there's some trouble near the power plant."  
  
"As long as someone knows where we're going. So, how far is it to the plant?"  
  
"Don't ask. With all this traffic, the buses are going to be useless."  
  
"Hen-ry!" Terriermon complained.  
  
"Moumantai and keep running." Henry panted.  
  
==Mountains  
  
"No....not like that!" Rika groaned. "How can someone who's spent all her life around digimon be so..."  
  
"Hopeless?" Hitomi supplied. "I'm sorry, I-"  
  
"WHAT did I say about apologizing?" Rika demanded, getting a small 'eep' out of her student.  
  
Nami and Rumiko watched the two from the cabin. "It's so nice to see them getting along." Rumiko said cheerfully. "Normally, Rika just ignores everyone except for mom. She's been like that since Shirow left us. If it wasn't for mom, I don't know what I'd have done."  
  
Nami leaned back. "Well, you are on about a third of the billboards in town. I'd say you've done alright for yourself."  
  
"I know. I just wish I could...connect with Rika, you know? Sometimes, I feel like we're two completely different people."  
  
If you only knew, Nami thought. Above her, Noctowl was resting on the roof of the house. Idly, she reached over and turned on the radio.  
  
"-and we have an update on the city-wide blackout that happened just a few hours ago. Officials are still trying to determine the cause of the power failure, only saying that they are currently investigating the crisis..."  
  
==Tokyo  
  
"I think we're close." Henry said.  
  
"Humans can sense digimon too? You never told me!" Terriermon answered, looking around.  
  
"No, but I do know a digital field when I see one!" Putting his sunglasses on, Henry ran through. On an impulse, he took his cellphone out and called his father. "Dad? There's a digital field here, Terriermon and I are going to check it out."  
  
The connection was very poor here; Henry supposed that it was due to the digital field. "Hen...can't get...to or Je...t for th...click"  
  
"That made no sense." Terriermon grumbled. "Can you get your girlfriend on that?"  
  
"Alice is not my girlfriend!" Henry snapped. "This isn't the time, just start looking for that digimon, alright?"  
  
"Alright, geez." Terriermon muttered, searching ahead a bit. "I think there's a digimon deep in the plant. He must be what's causing the blackout. Too bad Renamon or Gabumon isn't here. They seem to know all about these Devas."  
  
"We'll quiz them later." Henry answered, taking out a card. "I'd better evolve you now, just in case whatever's in there knows we're coming. Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Terriermon, digivolve to...Gargomon!" Tamer and digimon stepped ahead, waiting for some monster to come out and attack them. Idly, Henry fingered an Offense Plug in card, just in case Gargomon needed the extra power. "Hey, Henry? Did you ever find one of those blue card thingies?"  
  
"No." Henry replied. "Nothing in my collection. Or online, anywhere. I even emailed that one guy with the giant online card index, and he's never heard of a blue card like the one we saw." He glanced at his D-Arc. "You don't think it's something to do with our digivices, do you?"  
  
"You're asking me?" Suddenly, Gargomon stopped, and aimed one of his gun arms down a hallway. "Alright, come on out!" Slowly, two figures stepped out of a room.  
  
Henry recognized them. "Alice? What are you doing here? Labramon?"  
  
"We felt the disturbance too." Labramon replied. "Alice and I decided to investigate."  
  
"We can-" Henry started to reply.  
  
"Hey, the more the merrier." Gargomon interrupted. "You sure you can keep up, Labramon?" The small dog nodded, expression serious (Neat trick on such a cute little puppy -ed).   
  
"Gargomon." Henry hissed. "We can handle this. How do we know if Labramon can fight? We don't know how badly digivolving to his ultimate form drained him."  
  
"Moumantai." Gargomon whispered back. "Just loan Alice an evolution card, and we're all set."  
  
"But she...I mean, they might get hurt in here!"  
  
"Awww..." Gargomon teased. "You do care."   
  
Listening in, Alice was momentarily annoyed, then let it pass. Boys, she thought to herself. She walked by, heading deeper into the plant. "Labramon and I can take care of ourselves."  
  
"No, wait!"  
  
"Smooth move, Romeo."  
  
Henry resisted the urge to scream. I'm going to have an ulcer by 15, he decided.  
  
==Mountains  
  
Rika slumped down on her bed, thoroughly annoyed. "That girl is hopeless." she muttered. She glanced out the window, and saw her playing a game of cards with Eevee. "I don't believe it, even her partner is beating her!"  
  
"She is trying." her grandmother said, walking into the room. "Not everyone can be as good as you are."  
  
"I know." Rika replied. "But...she knows the rules, but she just can't seem to..." Rika trailed off with a sigh. "I guess I'll never make it as a teacher." she said.  
  
"Give it a few years." Yuka replied. "Where's your friend, Renamon? I don't see her around our home much."  
  
"Renamon had some bad news about a friend." Rika replied. "It's to do with the reason digimon are attacking Tokyo."  
  
"I see. Well, I don't have any advice I can offer, Rika. But, promise me this?" Rika nodded. "The next time you see Renamon, tell her that she's welcome to come inside the house. It gets lonely in there when you're at school and your mother is working. I promise, I won't tell Rumiko anything. Why don't you play with Hitomi for a while? I think her digimon friend is busy beating her at that card game." Curious, Rika glanced out the window.  
  
Outside, Hitomi groaned as Eevee defeated the last of her digimon. "Looks like I win again, kid." he said as Hitomi discarded the last card in her hand. "So, for my dinner tonight, let's say some barbecued fish, and a little salt for seasoning. Oh, and make sure the skin's removed. And the bones."  
  
"?" Was all Hitomi could manage.  
  
"You'll have stir-fry like everyone else." Nami interrupted, walking over. "Honestly, how could you take advantage of her like that?"  
  
Noctowl landed by the porch and hooted loudly. "Hey, I like vegetables!" Eevee protested  
  
"What about that tantrum you threw when dad gave you that carrot for lunch?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"It wasn't a tantrum, it was a legitimate complaint! Pokemon can't live on...on...rabbit food!"  
  
"Eat your veggies." Nami commanded. "Dinner's in three hours, and I'd better see a clean plate, mister."  
  
From the trees, Renamon watched the exchange. Bemused, she shook her head and looked to the sky. "Antylamon." she whispered. "What happened?"  
  
==Tokyo power plant  
  
"In here." Labramon said. "This is where the digimon is." Beside him, Gargomon nodded. "Alice, get ready, I may have to digivolve." Alice took out a card, ready to use it. "One, two, three...NOW!" Gargomon and Labramon burst through the door. They were now in what looked like the main control room, overlooking the massive generators that powered this part of the city. One of the windows was smashed, and, on the floor below, they spotted the digimon they were looking for.  
  
Gargomon summed up the situation best. "A giant chicken?"  
  
"So it would seem." Labramon nodded. "And he is drawing power out of the generators. That would explain the blackout."  
  
Alice looked at her digivice. "Sinduramon, ultimate level Deva digimon. Should we try to get the others here?"  
  
"Nahh, I don't buy that silly 'only ultimate digimon can beat ultimate digimon' stuff on TV." Gargomon answered. "Wish me luck!" With that, he jumped down.  
  
Labramon glanced at Alice, who was already slashing a card through her digivice. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Labramon, digivolve to...Dobermon!" The two digimon landed on the floor. "What are you doing here?"  
  
The digimon turned around slowly. It resembled a rooster, now that the humans and digimon got a really good look at it. It had the head of a rooster, and the wings, but they were placed on a spherical metal body, which had a strange rod with three prongs at each end on its back. "Who dares challenge the Deva of Thunder, Sinduramon?"  
  
"We do." Dobermon replied. "You are not welcome here, Deva. Leave or we will deal with you."  
  
"Yeah!" Gargomon added, aiming one of his hand cannons at the Deva. "Now take a hike or it's all you can eat chicken wings for everyone!"  
  
"Hmph." Sinduramon answered. "Normally, a Deva such as myself would not have to deal with such pathetic digimon like you. Back in the Digital World, I have Numemon serving me that are stronger than you."  
  
"A shame this isn't the digital world." Dobermon replied. He charged forward, teeth bared.  
  
Henry pulled a card out, got ready to slash it, then stopped. "How...?" In his hands was a blue card, just like the one Takato had used. "Well, here goes. Digi-modify! Matrix digivolution, activate!"  
  
Nothing happened.   
  
==Mountains  
  
Rika walked down to the lake, following the path Hitomi had taken after losing the last card game. She finally spotted her, down by the edge of the water, hunched over her sketchpad, in the middle of drawing something. Hitomi looked up, hearing Rika approach. "Oh, hello Rika."  
  
Rika nodded. "So, the plush toy cleaned you out? After everything I taught you, too."  
  
Hitomi's face fell. "I know, I'm sorry-"  
  
"Cut it out!" Rika interrupted, making Hitomi jump. "Okay, you know what your problem is? You're not aggressive enough. You always wait for someone else to start something, and then you just react to it. You'll never win at Digimon Card that way." Hitomi opened her mouth to respond. "And if the next two words out of your mouth are 'I'm sorry', then...then you really will be sorry!" Rika grinned a bit as she saw a flicker of anger pass over Hitomi's face. "Good," she said, confusing Hitomi, "I was starting to wonder if you could get angry."  
  
"I...I don't understand." Hitomi replied uncertainly.  
  
"Like I said, you're too nice, and that's like having the word 'doormat' tattooed on your head. What's your family like?" Confused by the apparent change of subject, Hitomi told her all about her parents, her life at home, and her friends. Rika nodded. "Okay. Can I be honest?" Hitomi nodded. "I think you're a little spoiled. Not in a bad way," Rika amended, seeing horror creep over Hitomi's face, "but it sounds like you're used to having everyone else take care of you. Trust me, the only person you can rely on is yourself."  
  
"What about Renamon?" Hitomi asked, a bit pointedly.  
  
"Alright, your digimon partner too." Rika sighed. "Look, my dad ran off when I was little, and my mom's always off on some stupid modeling assignment. The school counselor gave me the whole spiel about having trouble opening up to others." So why am I opening up to her, she wondered.  
  
==  
  
"HENRY!" Gargomon roared. "I could use that blue card right now!"  
  
"It's not working!" Henry yelled back, swiping the card over and over. Growling, he tossed the card aside, and took out another card. "Digi-Modify! Metal armor activate!" Instantly, Gargomon's body was covered in silvery metal. Henry glanced around, but didn't see Alice. Must have gone to get a better vantage point, he decided.  
  
"Fool!" Sinduramon crowed. He fired a bolt of electricity, which glanced off of Gargomon. "Your pathetic abilities are no match for the lord of sky and thunder! Even if that metal will not conduct my power, I can still melt it and you into a small pile of slag!" With a cry, the rooster Deva fired another bolt at Gargomon, completely forgetting about Dobermon.  
  
"Darkness!" A field of black covered Sinduramon, blinding him, allowing Dobermon a chance to attack. "AND LIGHT!" Claws and teeth glowing silver-white, Dobermon jumped onto the Deva, trying to maul the digimon. However, his bites and swipes skittered off the metallic body of Sinduramon. "I can't break his armor!"  
  
"No one can! Treasure Pestle!" With a swing, Dobermon was knocked clear, landing unconscious a few yards away. "You will pay for your arrogant presumption, fallen one!" The Deva stepped forward, ignoring Gargomon's attacks, ready to finish off Dobermon.  
  
With a gasp, Henry saw Alice run out of a doorway, and try to pull Dobermon clear. "Alice!" he called. "Get out of there! ALICE! Gargomon, get him!"  
  
"I'm trying!" Gargomon shouted, still firing. "But I can't do much without a can opener!"  
  
Henry tried to fight down his panic. I have to draw him away from Alice and Dobermon..."Digi-modify! Double Dark shot, activate!"  
  
"Waaahhh-HOOO!" Gargomon yelled. "Double Dark Shot!" Two missiles appeared on Gargomon's back, launched, and struck Sinduramon, driving him into the generators. With a wild cry, Sinduramon was wreathed in flames as the generators exploded around him.  
  
Leaving the control room, Henry picked up the discarded blue card, and ran down the stairs, over to where Alice and Dobermon were. "Are you alright?"   
  
Alice nodded, getting up. "We are fine." Dobermon said, emphasizing the 'we', and getting a faint blush out of Henry.  
  
"That generator's toast." Gargomon added, walking over. "Looks like your allowance is gonna get docked for the next century or so." He stopped, looking at the generator again. "Oh no..."  
  
Sinduramon, now three times as large, and still growing, burst out of the wreckage. "I am the lord of thunder!" he proclaimed. "None shall defeat me!" He started launching energy bolts, forcing everyone to jump clear. As he dodged, Henry felt a searing pain rip through him. Instinctively, he rolled, came up behind some wreckage, and looked at the source of his pain.  
  
Where his pack of cards and their leather carrying case was, there was only soot. Gargomon ran over to him. "Okay, we just use another Dark shot card and...ahhhh nuts!" Gargomon trailed off, seeing what had happened. Henry winced as he tried to stand. "Okay, new plan. you stay here, and I clobber 'Mr. Eleven herbs and spices'."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No buts! Think of it as a good chance to score points with your girlfriend!" Gargomon smirked, and ran into the battle.  
  
"She's not..." Henry protested, but trailed off. He lifted his hand, and realized he still held the blue card in it. "Some use this is. Why were Takato and Alice able to evolve their digimon? Why can't I?" He winced as he stood up, and saw Gargomon dodging lightning bolts from Sinduramon. A pair of arms helped him up. "Alice?" As he spoke, he saw Dobermon join the fight.  
  
Alice nodded. "You're hurt. We have to get you out of here, and try to get Jeri and Takato here to help. Sinduramon's too strong for us now. Without a blue card, I can't evolve Dobermon back to Black Were Garurumon."  
  
Henry looked up. "Who says we need it?" he said suddenly. Confused, Alice glanced at him. "The digidestined on TV didn't need their crests, maybe our cards are just focuses, like the crests."  
  
"But that's a TV show!" Alice replied. "It doesn't..." suddenly, she realized where Henry was going. "Hitomi." she whispered.  
  
Henry nodded. "Help me up." he said. Alice helped him stand, while Henry concentrated. "Hitomi said that a digivice represents the bond between a tamer and a digimon. It, and our cards, allows us to help our digimon." As he spoke, the blue card glinted, as if responding. Henry's D-Arc glowed. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Gargomon, Matrix Digivolve to...RAPIDMON!"  
  
"It worked!" Alice gasped. As she watched, the blue colour on the card faded, revealing a normal card. "You used a Terriermon card?"  
  
"It must have changed when I pulled it out of my card pack." Henry answered. "But I was so focussed on the card, I never thought about the power that made it work."  
  
"I don't know what you did!" Rapidmon yelled. "But I love it! Bring it on, sparky!" With a mad cry, Sinduramon's beak snapped out, trying to bite Rapidmon in two. "Whoops, too slow! Nope, not there! Missed again! Boy, your pecking's not up to scratch, is it?"  
  
"Do not mock one of the Devas, worm!" Sinduramon started to call up another lightning blast, but his head was suddenly wrapped in darkness.  
  
"Thanks!" Rapidmon called to Dobermon. "Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon fired off a barrage of shots, all striking Sinduramon, forcing him out of the power plant (now much the worse for wear -ed). "Okay, you can pay for the wall, rooster-boy! But first, how about a hand?" he reached forward, grabbed the Deva by the wing and, swinging him around several times, flung him into the air. "Tri-Beam!" With a final cry, Sinduramon was annihilated by the beam.  
  
==2 hours later.  
  
Janyu frowned as he checked the bandage on Henry's side. "Well, I'm glad it wasn't more serious. But you should be more careful, you could have been paralyzed."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Janyu sighed. "Well, at least it wasn't serious. But your mother is going to have kittens when she sees that. And about the power plant..."  
  
Henry groaned. "Ah nuts..."  
  
==Mountains, that night.  
  
Hitomi closed her notebook, then climbed into bed. "You okay, kid?" Eevee asked. Noctowl was perched on a chair by the window, which was cracked slightly. Hitomi shivered slightly, as a slight gust of cold air came in through the window. "Look, I don't know what Rika said to you, but you've been quiet ever since dinner." His eyes narrowed. "If she-"  
  
"No, Eevee." Hitomi replied. "Am I...am I timid?"  
  
Eevee blinked, confused. "Uh, maybe a little, why?"  
  
"Well, Rika says that's why I'm no good at the card game."  
  
"So? It's just a dumb card game. I like you the way you are." Eevee repressed a shudder. "You're not thinking of becoming like her, are you? Because trust me, you can't scowl convincingly."  
  
"I can't?" Hitomi replied. Outside, Renamon leaned nearer the window, silently amused by the conversation.  
  
"I don't want to be completely like Rika." Hitomi went on. "I just want to be as strong as she is." She looked out the window. "I don't want to go through my life relying on other people to save me. It seems like that's all that ever happens."  
  
"Hey, who helped me digivolve into Jolteon? Who helped me kick Renamon's tail the second week we were here?"  
  
Hitomi smiled. "Still..."  
  
Eevee sighed. "Alright, alright. You want to be stronger, I'll help. But promise me you won't start wearing jeans and saying how stupid everything is, alright? Your mom'd kill me."  
  
==An hour later  
  
Dressed for bed, Rika checked on Hitomi (sound asleep, Eevee napping beside her pillow), then opened the window and looked out. "Are you alright?" she asked Renamon, sitting on the roof to the left of the window.  
  
Renamon nodded. "Yes. Are you? Eevee nearly went off, when he heard you say Hitomi was spoiled. Perhaps sheltered would have been a better word?"  
  
"Maybe. She's got the potential, but she's just so...timid sometimes." Rika looked at Renamon. "Are you okay? With maybe having to fight Antylamon in the future?"  
  
"I do not know. Antylamon and I were close, but that was some time ago. What has changed, I do not know." Renamon looked over Rika's shoulder, looking at Eevee and Hitomi. "I think she will do well. I think she is...taken with you, as your grandmother might say." Rika mumbled, not sure how to take that. "My usage may be incorrect, but I did see her drawing something just before she came in for dinner. It's in her book under her bed."  
  
Curious, Rika silently padded over and took the sketch pad out. She flipped through the first few pages, then saw the last illustration. It was a sketch of Rika, just after slashing a card through her D-arc.  
  
"She got my hair wrong." Rika replied, closing the book and placing it back under Hitomi's bed. "Not too bad, though."  
  
Next Episode:  
  
Vajramon, one of the last uncorrupted Devas, comes through a portal with a dire warning: two more Devas have come through, both seeking Calumon. But when the fight starts, Renamon discovers that one of the Devas is none other than Antylamon! Can Renamon fight her old friend? Next time on Digicross Tamers:  
  
-'Friend versus Tamer...Taomon, decide!' 


	19. Digicross tamers 19 'Friend versus Tamer...

Author's note:  
  
I had it pointed out to me that Rika's grandmother is really named 'Seiki', and this is accurate. In my defence, I can only say that, when I started writing her in, I didn't know, nor did I think to check. As frequently happens (with me, anyway), I chose the name 'Yuka' deliberately; exchange student living with a friend of mine that I met a few times. So it's a personal choice, but if all of FF.Net (Or, at least, everyone reading my stories) wants me to change it, I shall.  
  
And now, on with the story...  
  
==Friday  
  
"Takato..." Jeri called. Takato looked up, and saw Jeri running towards him. "Taaakaaatooo..." she said again.  
  
Takato smiled, holding his arms out. "Jeri. This is so perfect."  
  
"Soon we'll be together forever..." Jeri said softly, coming closer. "Takato..."  
  
Takato felt his heart leap. "Jeri...I l-"  
  
"TAKATO!"  
  
"GAAAHHH!" Takato almost took out Henry, standing up so fast. "Wha...what's happening?"  
  
"Takato?" Henry asked, confused look on his face. "Come on, lunch is almost over. You gotta stop staying up so late playing with Guilmon."  
  
"Lunch, right. Great timing, Henry." Takato muttered darkly, going inside.  
  
Henry shook his head. Terriermon crept out of the bushes. "Ahem?" the digimon prodded. "Was he or wasn't he?"  
  
Henry sighed. "Alright, he was. Here." Henry handed his partner a chocolate bar he had been saving for after school. "That boy needs a hobby."  
  
"Maybe you could ask him for some advice, eh?" Terriermon chided.  
  
"Put a sock in it."  
  
=====  
  
Digicross Tamers episode 19  
  
"Friend versus Tamer...Taomon, decide!"  
  
=====  
  
Nami looked over the class, sighing a bit. Hitomi's seat was empty today; she had taken ill with a flu bug that had been going around. Several other people in the classroom were missing as well, also sick. "Class, as you know, several people have become sick and are unable to attend classes today. Could I please have volunteers to take homework to them?" She nodded as several students raised their hands, volunteering to deliver the day's assignments. "I have to stay late today, so could I please have someone take Hitomi's homework to her?"  
  
Wordlessly, every eye in class slowly locked onto Kenta. "Um, I guess I could." Kenta said nervously.  
  
"Have fun on your date." Kazu teased.  
  
"Kazu." Nami said sharply. "Since you have so much to say, maybe you would like to start with today's math problem?" Nami held back a sigh. She was glad Alice had volunteered to check on Hitomi today; her school had closed after several of the teachers had called in sick, and no substitute teachers could be found in time.  
  
==Nami's apartment  
  
"How are you?" Alice asked, checking Hitomi's temperature. "I think your fever's gone down a bit."  
  
"I'm fine, thank you. I'm sorry, I didn't want to put you through this. I mean, making you miss school, and you might get my illness..."  
  
Alice sighed. "I see Henry wasn't exaggerating. It's not your fault, my school had to close today anyway, and as Dobermon might say, I've had my shots. Now lie down and stop apologizing."  
  
"Eevee..." Hitomi tried to get up.  
  
"Lie down." Alice ordered. "Eevee's in the next room, and Dobermon has been instructed to keep him and Noctowl there." Alice smirked as she heard Dobermon growl slightly. "Just try to get some sleep, alright? If you need anything, I'll be right here." Her smirk faded as Hitomi's pokegear rang. "Hello, Mr. Motomiya. She's resting, Mr. Motomiya. Nothing's changed in the 20 minutes since you last called, Mr. Motomiya. Good-BYE, Mr. Motomiya." She switched the phone off, sighing.  
  
==New Bark Town.  
  
June looked up. "Dear? Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to call back?" Somewhat annoyed, Growlithe decided to drag Kyle away from the communicator. He didn't complain when Izzy and Kari decided to help out.  
  
==School, after last class.  
  
"Yes, get off there, it's on the 20th floor." Nami said to Kenta. "She's still very ill, so don't stay too long, or you might get sick too." Kenta nodded, and left. "Staff meeting." Nami sighed. "There has to be a better way to do things."  
  
"Ah, Ms. Asaji." the principal said, exiting a room as Nami walked by. "Some of us are concerned about this Hitomi situation-"  
  
"What situation?" Nami asked, voice controlled.  
  
"Well, we feel that there might be some conflict of interests, one of your students staying with you, and we were..." the principal trailed off as Nami looked at him, face dark.  
  
"Are you questioning my judgement, Mr. Terada?" Nami asked quietly, voice filled with ice. "Or my competency?"  
  
Suoh Terada resisted the urge to cringe. He suddenly felt like he was five and was being scolded by his aunt. "Umm...no, not at all, please, consider the matter dropped."  
  
==Nonaka home.  
  
Rika sighed, bored. Takato and Henry had been called by Hypnos just after school ended, and sent across town to investigate another possible D-field. She would gladly have gone with them, but she had been stuck in an assembly. 'Spirit Day.' Feh.  
  
"You seem annoyed." Renamon noted, sitting on a treebranch. "We could go after them, catch up in no time." Rika looked away. "Or are you worried about someone?"  
  
"She's got a cold, that's all!" Rika snapped. "I just wish I could have gone along to check out that digital field instead of having to sit through the principal yap on about school pride."  
  
"Rika!" her mother called from the living room. "Jeri's here to visit!"  
  
"Hi!" Jeri called.  
  
"I'm out back." Rika replied. Jeri made it to Rika's room a minute later. "What brings you by?"  
  
"Oh, just bored. Takato and Henry took off after school, do you know where they went?"  
  
"Digital field." Rika replied.  
  
"Oh." Jeri looked a little hurt. "Takato never said anything to me."  
  
"Too embarrassed, probably."  
  
"I'm sorry, what was that?" A small smile crept onto Jeri's face.  
  
==Tamers Digital World  
  
"Hurry!" the larger digimon yelled, holding a large shell-shaped cannon in front of him, aimed at the approaching hordes. "Get through and find the others! They have to be stopped, there's no telling what might happen!"  
  
The other digimon swung one of his two swords in an arc, sending a wave of energy out. "I cannot leave you here, brother! We have to escape together!"  
  
"No! Vajramon, you have to go through! One of us has to stay here and close the portal in case those...things try to use it! DO not worry, I shall not die by the hands of this rabble! Now get going!"  
  
Vajramon nodded. "Very well. If you see Pajiramon..."  
  
"I will take care of her. GO!"  
  
Some distance away, two other figures observed one digimon leave, while the other first destroyed the portal, then managed to escape, destroying many digimon as he left the battlefield. "Fool." one said.  
  
"It matters not. We have our own portal to use. Now we must go to retrieve the Catalyst. Besides, it is not good to separate siblings, right?"  
  
==  
  
Henry looked around, digivice held out. "Well, if a digital field was here, it's gone now." He glanced at Guilmon, 'disguised' with a hooded jacket. "Was that the best you could do?"  
  
"Hey, it's not like they had Invisibility cards I could use!" Takato replied. "Besides, it worked for Tai. And it's probably better than stuffing him into a backpack." As he spoke, the backpack Henry was carrying squirmed.  
  
"Well, it is quieter." Henry answered. "You getting anything?"  
  
"Nope. If there is a digimon here, my digivice can't find it. Guilmon?"  
  
"I don't smell anything." He stopped, looking up.  
  
"This better not be another bread store." Takato groaned.   
  
"No...digimon!"  
  
==  
  
Vajramon staggered out of the digital portal, still weak. "So, this is the human world." he groaned. "Gahh...the stench. How can anyone live here, Numemon dumps aren't this foul! Catalyst...I must find the catalyst..." As he spoke, he knelt down, exhausted.  
  
After a few minutes, he recovered. "I must go. There is too much to be done..."  
  
"There!" someone yelled. Vajramon looked up, and saw two humans and...Digimon! "Is that a Deva?"  
  
The wiser-looking human held up some sort of item, pointing it at Vajramon. "Vajramon," the human said, "Ultimate level, Vaccine type...it is a Deva!"  
  
The first human, looking a bit silly with those...goggles?...on his head, seemed thrilled. "Alright! Guilmon, get ready!" The large red Digimon snarled, eyes narrowing.  
  
"You can command Digimon?" Vajramon gasped. "Wait! I must talk with you, I have no intention of fighting!"  
  
==  
  
Rika fought the urge to moan. Jeri had insisted that they go shopping, an idea which her mother only too readily agreed with. "Oh, Rika, of course you can go!" her mother had said.  
  
"But...mom..."  
  
"Go on, I'm sure you and Jeri will have fun." Her grandmother added. "Rumiko, why don't you go with them? Dinner won't be ready for a few hours."  
  
Rika's mom clapped her hands together. "Oh, Rika, we'll have so much fun! I think it's time you changed that wardrobe of yours-"  
  
"Rumiko." Rika's grandmother interrupted, waving a finger at Rumiko.   
  
"Oh, alright. No makeovers." Rumiko sighed, crossing her arms. 'But just one little-"  
  
"Only if Rika says so." You owe me one, Yuka mouthed to Rika. Rika nodded, defeated.  
  
"Great! Let's go!" Jeri said, grabbing Rika's arm and almost dragging her out of the house.  
  
"Oh, it's so nice to see Rika making new friends!" Rumiko said happily, following.  
  
Yuka sighed, watching them leave. "A few months ago, Rumiko would have had to drag Rika out of here, kicking and screaming."   
  
Renamon appeared out of the shadows. "She has changed. And yes, I will be following her. I believe Gabumon will not be far behind."  
  
"I'm glad. It's nice to know that Rika will always have someone watching over her. Even if she would never admit to it." Renamon nodded. "Get going, now. Try not to frighten Rumiko too much."  
  
"I will be discrete." Renamon said, vanishing.  
  
==  
  
"Who's coming?" Henry gasped.  
  
"Pajiramon and Antylamon." Vajramon replied. "They have very specific orders to capture the Catalyst and bring him back, and not to be too careful about collateral damage."  
  
"Why are they after Calumon, anyway?" Takato asked. "I mean, there's not a lot he can do here, right?"  
  
"The one who has taken over the Sovereign's rule of the digital world fears what the Catalyst could do."  
  
"Restoring the power to digivolve?" Takato asked, still confused. "Gabumon told us that Calumon was created to hide the power of digivolution; without the power to digivolve, you'd think that it'd be, well, easier to take over. Uhh, no offence, Vajramon."  
  
"These children are our saviours?" Vajramon wondered, ignoring the dirty look Terriermon threw at him. "It is rumoured that Calumon, as you call him, has other abilities, aside from his power over digivolution. Is he still safe?"  
  
"We did manage to fight off some of the other Devas." Henry replied.  
  
Vajramon's eyes widened. "You defeated a Deva? Forgive me, but I find that hard to believe. The Devas are the mightiest warriors in the Digital World."  
  
"Not when we digivolve!" Terriermon piped up. "You should have seen me take on that oversized rooster! I walloped him! With a lot more style and grace than when Guilmon here digivolved to War Growlmon and roasted Vikaralamon!"  
  
"You two...beat Vikaralamon and Shinduramon?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." Takato replied. "And we kinda beat Makuramon too."  
  
"My fears may have been groundless." Vajramon sighed, trying to stand.  
  
"Hey, how do we know you're on our side?" Henry asked. "For all we know, you could be after Calumon too."  
  
"He is." a voice said, as the entire area filled with fog. "He is a traitor and must be destroyed. As you shall be."  
  
Vajramon turned, hooves cracking the asphalt under him. "Pajiramon." he gasped. "Do not force me to fight you, sister!" The newcomer was a giant sheep, with a humanoid torso and carrying a crossbow.  
  
"You have given us little choice, fool." A second voice called. Takato and Henry were able to make out some details. This digimon was large, had almost comically oversized arms, and long ears coming from its head.  
  
"Let me guess." Henry groaned. "Antylamon."  
  
"Takato?" Guilmon whispered. "Isn't that Renamon's friend?"  
  
"I don't think so." Takato answered grimly, taking a card out.  
  
==  
  
Rika trudged along, bored almost to tears. As she had feared, Jeri and her mother had hit it off almost instantly, going into every clothing store they came across. So far, they hadn't bought anything, but Rika knew that, before the day was out, she'd be buried under boxes. At least they hadn't made her try on any fancy dresses. Yet.  
  
She regretted the thought as soon as it entered her mind. Sure enough, her mother ran over to her. "Oh, Rika, you just have to come in, I found the most lovely thing for you to wear!" Eagerly, she took Rika's arm and pulled her into the store. It was a traditional store, and Rika saw several kimonos in the window. She shuddered; if anything, she hated wearing kimonos even more than dresses. She could barely move in the things. She saw Jeri step out of a changing room. "Oh, Jeri, you look so lovely!" Rumiko exclaimed. "Rika, you just have to try one on. Please? For me?" She couldn't see her, but Rika could hear Jeri trying to hold back a fit of laughter.  
  
"All right." Rika sighed.   
  
Rumiko nearly fell over. Rika had never agreed this easily. It took about five minutes, but when Rika stepped out of the changing room, Rumiko's eyes almost shone. "Rika...oh, you... that suits you perfectly." She was near tears. Even Jeri seemed a bit stunned. Rika shuffled a bit, uncomfortable with all the attention. "Okay, you can change back." Rumiko said, feigning resignation. "Kawakuba? We'll take them both. Just charge it to my account." The store manager nodded.  
  
"Ms. Nonaka..." Jeri gasped.  
  
"Oh, it's alright, Jeri!" Rumiko interrupted her. "You look lovely in that kimono. SO, take care of it and make sure to wear it on special occasions, alright?" Jeri nodded.  
  
Somebody shoot me, Rika thought. Maybe I can trade parents with that Akira girl from Hitomi's world. Her hand brushed against her digivice, which suddenly started to flash. A second later, the floor shook.  
  
"An earthquake?" Rumiko asked, looking around.  
  
Jeri's digivice had also lit up. She glanced at Rika, who had finished changing back and had just stepped out of the changing room. "We'll go check. Wait here!" Jeri said, as she and Rika left the store.  
  
Rika and Jeri hurried down the street, Rika putting her glasses on as they entered the now-familiar mists of the digital field. "Renamon?"  
  
"I am here, Rika. As is Gabumon." Renamon appeared by Rika's side, ready for a battle.  
  
"This way, Jeri!" Gabumon called to his partner, a little blinded by the mists. "We're almost through." He glanced at Rika. "Devas?"  
  
"Probably." Rika replied. "There! Renamon, do it!" she called, taking a card out. Jeri did likewise. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Renamon, digivolve to...Kyuubimon!"  
  
"Gabumon, digivolve to...Leomon!" With a snarl, Leomon charged forward, attacking the first target he saw.  
  
"Leomon! Wait!" Vajramon cried, ducking Leomon's sword.  
  
"V...Vajramon? Why are you here? If you've come for Calumon, then I'll-"  
  
"No!" the Deva replied, desperately. "Please, you must save the other children! There are two other Devas in here, and I-" with a gasp, Vajramon seemed to go rigid, then fell over, crossbow bolt in his back.  
  
"Vajramon!" Leomon said. Looking up, he saw a second digimon approach, one he recognized. "Pajiramon? Vajramon...he was your BROTHER!"  
  
"He was a traitor." Pajiramon replied coldly, loading another bolt into her crossbow. "He fought against the True Sovereign. Will you as well?"  
  
Kyuubimon stepped forward, but Leomon held up a hand. "No. She's MINE! Fist of the Beast King!" Pajiramon batted the blast aside with her crossbow. "Kyuubimon, tend to Vajramon! I'll keep this one at bay!"  
  
"Leomon!" Jeri gasped, but the lion was too far away now, battling Pajiramon.  
  
Rika looked at Jeri. "Go!" she yelled. "You're Leomon's tamer, right? So get going!" Jeri nodded, and went after him.  
  
"I....I know you..." Vajramon murmured to Kyuubimon. "You are evolved from Renamon, yes? Antylamon spoke of you often..."  
  
"You know of Antylamon?" Kyuubimon gasped. "Where is she?"  
  
"She...she always regretted that she was chosen to be a Deva and not you. But in the end...it might have been for the best. Beware, the Devas are almost all evil now. The last I saw, Indramon was free, but I know of no others..."  
  
Kyuubimon's eyes went wide. "Vajramon! Vajramon! What happened to the Devas?"  
  
"Henry and Takato!" Rika suddenly said. "Weren't they checking out something around this area?"  
  
"The children...she has them..."  
  
Antylamon slowly walked towards them. "Hello, Kyuubimon. I see you managed to digivolve."  
  
==  
  
Leomon grunted as he felt one of Pajiramon's bolts bite into his side. It was only a graze, but it still caused him to flinch. He landed, rolled, and dove behind an abandoned car as Pajiramon let out a mighty shriek that shattered the glass around him.  
  
"Leomon!" Jeri called.  
  
"JERI! RUN AWAY!" Leomon shouted. He glanced at where Pajiramon was...CALUMON? What was he doing here?  
  
"Hello." Calumon said to Pajiramon. "Are you new here?"  
  
"Go away, maggot!" Pajiramon commanded. Calumon ran, panicking. Leomon tackled Pajiramon, trying to stop her from firing.  
  
"Should I tell Antylamon of this?" Pajiramon asked darkly, throwing off Leomon. "She is here, you know."  
  
"No! You lie!"  
  
"The only liar is that human you follow around like some stupid Chuumon. Destroy her and join me!" Jeri stepped back, suddenly terrified.  
  
Leomon replied by trying to drive his sword into Pajiramon's hindquarters. "I will never betray Jeri or her friends!"  
  
==  
  
Kyuubimon stared at the giant rabbit Deva. "Antylamon." she gasped.   
  
"Beware..." Vajramon gasped. "She was the first to fall..."  
  
"No!" Kyuubimon replied harshly. "Antylamon, you remember me, right? We fought together, at Black WereGarurumon's school! We battled to decide which of us could become a Deva!"  
  
"I remember." Antylamon replied, voice calm. "I remember how powerful you were, and how terrible I felt when I was chosen. But the True Sovereign appeared, and showed me a taste of true power. Kyuubimon, join us!"  
  
Rika's eyes narrowed. Antylamon's voice was too calm for this situation. It was almost emotionless, now that she thought of it. "She sounds like a robot." she muttered.  
  
Kyuubimon looked back at Rika, then up at Antylamon. "What happened to you?"  
  
"It happened when I was exploring part of Lord Azulongmon's domain. It was there that I discovered the voice of the True Sovereign. I understand...Oh, Kyuubimon, if I could only share it with you, the sheer joy I experienced."  
  
"Joy?" Vajramon snarled, struggling to his feet. "You turn the other Devas...MY SISTER!...into mindless robots, destroying all before them? How can you call that joy?"  
  
"The digital world is filled with pain, Vajramon. All those who would support it must be a part of that system. Therefore, to revive the Digital World, we must purge all those flawed elements."  
  
My god, Rika thought. She's completely psychotic! None of this is doing anything to her! "Renamon...she's crazy!"  
  
"MY SISTER IS NO MERE ELEMENT!" Vajramon shouted, drawing his swords and charging. His blades swung downwards in a screaming 'X' pattern.  
  
Antylamon swung her arm and blocked the attack. "Pathetic." she replied. "Treasure Axe." As Rika watched, one of Antylamon's hands changed into an axeblade, and, with a graceful spin, she swung her axe around and cut Vajramon in two.  
  
"Pajiramon..." Vajramon disintegrated, data being absorbed into Antylamon.  
  
"Kyuubimon, please join me. I do not wish you to meet the same fate as Vajramon. Or that human who came with you."  
  
"Do not make me choose, Antylamon." Kyuubimon replied. "I know you are still in there, somewhere." She nodded to Rika, who slashed a Greymon card through her D-Arc. "Nova Blast!"  
  
==  
  
Pajiramon pulled back, not badly injured by Leomon's attack. The girl, however, was another matter. Pajiramon had seen her use that strange object and what looked like small rectangles to keep changing Leomon's attacks. Time to level the field.  
  
"All right girl, you want to get involved in the fight?" Pajiramon nodded off to one side, where Jeri saw two green spheres. "I assume they're your friends, yes?"  
  
Jeri looked, and gasped as she saw Takato, Guilmon, Henry, and Terriermon, held in a pair of what looked like glowing green spheres. "What did you do to them?"  
  
"I merely thought it would be quicker to dispose of them after I had finished with you. However..." Pajiramon stepped over to the two spheres. "I'll let you chose. Which one do I finish off now?"  
  
"You...monster!" Leomon gasped, sword in hand but unwilling to attack. "Don't you have any honour?"  
  
"Honour?" Pajiramon asked. "My only honour is that of serving the True Sovereign. Your misguided loyalty to...that," she indicated Jeri, "could be forgiven. Pity I'm not that forgiving. So, girl, which one shall I destroy last? This?" her crossbow hovered over Takato and Guilmon's prison. "Or this one?" she asked, aiming at Henry and Terriermon's cage. "Choose, or they both die."  
  
Jeri nearly fell apart right there. Quickly, she glanced at the card she had pulled while Pajiramon was speaking, and gasped. "A blue card?" I could digivolve Leomon again, just like Takato did to Guilmon, she thought. But with Pajiramon using them as a shield...  
  
"I'm waiting."  
  
==  
  
Antylamon stepped back, ignoring Kyuubimon's attacks. "Your combination is impressive, Kyuubimon. Perhaps humans are not so useless as I had been led to believe."  
  
Kyuubimon stepped back. Was she actually reaching Antylamon?  
  
"But that makes it only more imperative to destroy them before they can become a threat to the true sovereign. I always wondered, Kyuubimon...which of us is truly stronger?" Antylamon dropped her arms. "I will use no weapons, Kyuubimon."  
  
"Rika. Stay out of this." Kyuubimon stepped forward.  
  
"What? Hey, Antylamon's an Ultimate level digimon! She's-"  
  
"She's my friend, Rika. As long as there is a chance to save her, I must try. Please trust me?" Reluctantly, Rika nodded. "Alright, Antylamon, I agree. But only if you promise to leave Rika alone." Antylamon nodded.  
  
Anxiously, Rika watched the two circle, then, after a tense minute, they both charged, Renamon wreathed in white flames, Antylamon's axes coming down. She felt a card in her hand, and sucked in a gasp as she recognized it as a blue card. She looked up, and saw Renamon fighting Antylamon, running up one of her arms and crashing into her head with a Dragon Wheel. Kyuubimon jumped off, ready for her next attack. "Rika, get out of here!"  
  
"I'm not leaving! And you'd better not leave me either!" Rika shouted back. "You hear me?"  
  
Kyuubimon smiled a bit. "Of course. I will always be here for you, Rika."  
  
"Pay attention!" Antylamon shouted, burying an axe in front of Kyuubimon. "That human is making you weak. You always drifted off when Black WereGarurumon was teaching us."  
  
Kyuubimon glanced at Antylamon. "Perhaps. Foxtail Inferno!"  
  
Antylamon dodged the fireblast, and then swung her axe blades forward. Renamon started to dodge, then changed direction, knocking Rika out of the path of the blades. Kyuubimon was hit, two ugly gashes in her side forcing her down.  
  
"You...promised not to hurt Rika." Kyuubimon said, struggling to stand.  
  
"You must choose, her or me?" Antylamon replied. "I thought we were friends. Or has this human taken my place? Let me finish her, and we can go visit the True Sovereign together. We will destroy the humans eventually anyway. Why prolong her suffering?"  
  
Rika looked at her partner, who seemed to be lost in thought. A sudden cold spike of fear went through her. Renamon...her partner wouldn't really...?  
  
"I asked you not to make me choose, Antylamon. Rika? Do it."  
  
Rika was caught between relief and excitement. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"  
  
==  
  
From the cover of an overturned cart, Calumon watched Rika and Kyuubimon's battle. "There's too much fighting going on." Calumon whined. "I know, but it still feels bad and scary to watch everyone getting hurt. What? Wait for what? Oh, okay." Calumon sat down, despondent.   
  
"I wish there was some way I could help. There is? Wait for what sign?"  
  
==  
  
"Jeri." Leomon hissed. "Trust me." Out of the corner of his eye, Leomon saw the blue card she was holding. He knew that if he could digivolve like the others did, he could defeat Pajiramon before Takato and Henry were injured. However, Jeri was frozen.  
  
"Oh well." Pajiramon sighed, bending over and picking up Takato and Guilmon's emerald cage. It shifted a bit, and became a round shield, protecting most of Pajiramon's torso and forelegs. "Why don't we do it this way? Feel free to attack, Leomon. Ah, but I see these two are...special to that girl." Pajiramon grinned sadistically.  
  
"Jeri, I have to digivolve!"  
  
"Leomon..." Jeri was shaking now, not sure what to do.  
  
"Well, do something!" Pajiramon called, firing her crossbow, using Takato and Guilmon as a shield. Leomon parried one of the bolts, but the second tore into his leg.  
  
"Jeri! Please, I can save them!"  
  
"But...I don't want to lose..."  
  
"JERI!" Another bolt struck his shoulder. Leomon fell to one knee. This isn't fair, Leomon wanted to shout. She's only a child, she shouldn't be in this position! "Jeri, please, you have to believe I can save them!"  
  
Jeri saw Takato and Guilmon, trapped on Pajiramon's shield. Then she saw Pajiramon's face, and saw how much the Deva was enjoying her torment. That made up her mind.  
  
"Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"  
  
==  
  
Calumon felt...well, not quite sick, but he felt something trying to come out of him. "Uhh...AHHH!" As he yelled, the red triangle on his forehead lit up, two beams of light coming out of it.  
  
==  
  
Kyuubimon felt her wounds heal. "Kyuubimon, matrix digivolve to...Taomon!"  
  
Antylamon stepped back. "But how? No one has digivolved to the Ultimate level since the Catalyst was created! No mind. My Mantra Chant shall take care of your evolution. Mantra Chant!"  
  
"Talisman Spell!" Taomon shouted. In her hands, a throwing iron, shaped like a runic symbol, appeared and she threw it at the incoming attack. Both attacks were cancelled. "We appear to be matched."  
  
"No matter. I shall destroy you and then the girl. Treasure Axe!" Her hands forming into axeblades again, Antylamon charged and tackled Taomon, the two landing in a pile on the ground. "Was it worth this, old friend? Was that human worth the end of your life?"  
  
"Rika is worth everything to me." Taomon replied. "Thousand Spells!" Antylamon roared in pain as several dozen ofuda exploded on Antylamon's torso, throwing the rabbit Deva away. Taomon, also injured by the point blank attack, got up, staring coldly at Antylamon. "I will offer you one last chance to surrender, Antylamon. I have the power to restore your mind, if you will let me. I do miss the old days, when we were friends. Don't let this be the last memory I have of you, Antylamon."  
  
Antylamon felt, for the first time since she had become a Deva, a stirring of fear in her. The girl, she realized. She made this happen. Cautiously, she tried to get up, and started edging around. Then, when she thought she had an opening, she attacked, aiming right at Rika. Rika didn't even have time to say anything as Antylamon made it to only a few feet in front of her.  
  
"Forgive me. TALISMAN OF LIGHT!" Antylamon stopped as a silvery talisman punched through her, illuminating the ground in front of her. The Deva collapsed, defeated, landing right in front of Rika.  
  
==Same time the above section was happening.  
  
"Leomon, Matrix Digivolve to...Grappleomon!" Leomon's' transformation was impressive. He had gotten bigger, and his body was covered in grey metallic body armor. On his lower legs and forearms, what looked like turbines spun slowly.  
  
Jeri glanced at her D-Arc, which had an image on it. "Grappleomon." she read. "Type: Vaccine, Beast Man digimon. Special attack...Lion Beast Killing Wave?" she gasped.   
  
"Not to worry. I have very good aim." Grappleomon replied. "Last chance, Pajiramon. Release them and leave!" Pajiramon, snarling, ignored the offer and kept firing, crossbow bolts bouncing off Grappleomon's armor.  
  
"Be careful!" Jeri called. Sneering, Pajiramon lifted her shield up, taking careful aim with her crossbow.  
  
The turbines on Grappleomon's arms began spinning. "Lion Beast Killing Wave!"  
  
"You've sacrificed the humans!" Pajiramon yelled triumphantly. "Treasure Bow!"  
  
The bolt shot out, but was stopped and shattered by Grappleomon's wave of force. The blast carried on and struck Pajiramon's crossbow, shattering it. "Takato and Guilmon were not my target." her replied. Enraged, Pajiramon tossed the shield aside and charged at the cyborg digimon.  
  
Now, the turbines on Grappleomon's legs spun up to speed, and Pajiramon found herself on the receiving end of a barrage of powerful kicks. "Lion Whirlwind Kick!" The first two blows sent Pajiramon flying, stunned by the force of the attack. "As long as I live, I will never allow digimon like you to harm these humans!" As he spoke, all four of his turbines began spinning, the whine from them sounding like a jet engine. "Tempest Lion Teeth!" He shot forward, almost invisible inside of the small tornado he had generated. It engulfed Pajiramon, though Jeri could still make out the sounds of several blows being exchanged. After a few minutes, the blows stopped, and the whirlwind began to dissipate. Out of the top, Jeri could see small particles escaping, flying into the atmosphere. "Grappleomon?"  
  
"I'm alright, Jeri." Gabumon said, staggering away from the now-gone tornado. "Matrix Digivolving takes a lot out of you. Oh, I think the others are free now."  
  
Jeri turned around, and saw the emerald cage around Takato and Guilmon vanish. A short distance away, Henry and Terriermon were getting up. "Takato!" Jeri yelled, tackle-hugging Takato.  
  
"Hey, how about something for us?" Terriermon said, a bit miffed.  
  
"Let it be." Henry said. "I saw everything. Nice job, Gabumon."  
  
Gabumon nodded. "Umm...is that normal between humans?" he asked, indicating Jeri and Takato.  
  
Henry took one look at Takato's expression (Goofy 'I'm on cloud nine' type -ed) and chuckled. "Some humans. Is Rika here? I thought I heard her name mentioned."  
  
==  
  
Rika stood there as Taomon reverted to Renamon, and strode over to Antylamon, who slowly shrank back to Turuiemon. "Re...Renamon?" Turuiemon gasped.  
  
"I am here." Renamon said, kneeling down and cradling Turuiemon's head.  
  
"I'm so sorry. When I encountered the True Sovereign, he took me over and made me do...horrible things. Oh, if only Leomon could see me now..."  
  
"Leomon?" Rika gasped. "He's here! Wait, I'll go get him!"  
  
"No." Turuiemon replied. "It's too late. Tell him...I'm sorry for letting him down. Renamon...beware, the True Sovereign plans to destroy both this world and the Digital World!" Turuiemon tried to get up, but failed. "Renamon...I must go now. I don't think I will return. There hasn't been a new digimon in the Digital World since you left..."  
  
"What?" Renamon gasped. But Turuiemon said no more. Her body vanished, leaving Renamon kneeling there. "Farewell, Turuiemon."  
  
"Renamon..." Rika whispered.  
  
"Rika. I meant it when I said you were worth everything to me."  
  
"But...she was your friend."  
  
"I know. But I had no choice, Rika. I will never leave you."  
  
==Monday, after school  
  
"Don't say it." Jeri said to Hitomi. Jeri had just finished telling Hitomi about the battle and Gabumon's evolution to Grappleomon. "Don't you dare apologize!"  
  
"Thank you!" Eevee sighed. "Well, someone had to tell you." he said to Hitomi. "How is Gabumon?"  
  
"A bit sad he didn't have a chance to see Turuiemon before she...died." Jeri said. "I think I understand why you tried to keep me from becoming a tamer, Hitomi. Are all the fights this hard?"  
  
"I'm afraid so. But as Takeru might say, digidestined are specialists at fighting hopeless battles."  
  
Jeri blinked. "Takeru? Your cousin?" Hitomi nodded. "Does he always quote Gundam Wing?"  
  
"He takes after his father." Hitomi replied. "Uncle Davis has a whole library of anime videos. How about Rika and Renamon?"  
  
"I talked to Rika on Sunday. She and Renamon are fine, but I think something shook Rika up a bit. She wouldn't say what though."  
  
"I hope she gets over it soon." Eevee said. "We're going to need all the help we can get, if this keeps up."  
  
==Next Episode  
  
Getting desperate at the defeat of so many Devas, Majiramon and Kumbhiramon make their way to the Real World, managing to trap all the tamers except for Hitomi at the Hypnos headquarters. Can Hitomi last against the Dragon Deva, and can the other Tamers escape Kumbhiramon's traps and help her? Next time, on Digicross Tamers episode 20:  
  
-'Mystic Swordsman Karatenmon' 


	20. Digicross Tamers 20 'Mystic Swordsman Ka...

Retcon note: I just noticed that, all the time I was typing 'Dolly', I really should have been typing 'Daisy'. I goofed,  
  
in other words, and I apologise.  
  
Chatsuramon looked up at the massive cloud, reddish-blue, hovering over them. "Sovereign!" he implored. "My brethren have  
  
been struck down! How shall we avenge this strike against us? We must destroy the human blight on the two worlds!"  
  
The cloud pulsed. Then a large, four-legged creature stepped out, the ground crumbling under its feet. "My patience wears  
  
thin. I shall send Majiramon and Khumbiramon to the Real World, to avenge your kin."  
  
"But they may be beaten!"  
  
"No. This time, I shall choose the manner of their appearance. As the war continues, my power grows ever stronger. And  
  
my power will be the end of the humans and their perverted digimon."  
  
==  
  
Digicross Tamers 19  
  
'Mystic Swordsman Karatenmon'  
  
==  
  
==Friday, Tokyo.  
  
Hitomi looked closely at the manga Takato had loaned her. "Ah, Takato? I don't think uncle Davis ever called Uncle Ken  
  
'homeslice.'"  
  
"Picky, picky." Terriermon sighed, shaking his head.  
  
"Hey, I was curious." Takato answered, shrugging helplessly.   
  
Hitomi smiled. "Well, I could ask him the next time we talk. Oh, Henry? What are 'mad skilz'?"  
  
"What, they don't have L33T-speak?"  
  
"Elite-speak?"  
  
"Hey, maybe you could get them to re-do the series." Terriermon suggested. "Isn't TK supposed to be a writer?"  
  
Hitomi thought about it for a second. "Well, he did help produce the 'Angel Defence Force' anime series."  
  
"Angel...?" Takato asked.  
  
Hitomi nodded. "It was a short anime series that all of the Japanese digidestined worked on. Dad, TK, and Aunt Kari all  
  
did voices for the main characters in the original series."  
  
"Oh, I get it!" Jeri said. "And Patamon, Gatomon, and your dad's Eevee were the angels?" Hitomi nodded. "That must have  
  
been so neat. Is it still running?"  
  
"Well, there's a new set of voice actors now. Although the original cast do come back every now and again."  
  
==8 years ago, Celadon City  
  
The convention hall was packed, people milling around in costumes going from booth to booth. In one room, Ken, Yolei, TK,  
  
and Kari were all seated up front, answering questions.   
  
"So, what was your inspiration for playing the lead villain?" one girl asked.  
  
Yolei shrugged. "Well, I originally wanted to play the lead role, but Mimi and Kari convinced me that I could have more  
  
fun being the bad guy. And Ken got to be my willing slave." That got a few laughs from the audience, and a beet red blush  
  
from Ken. "And I had little Sam cheering me on. Say hi, Sam!"  
  
Sam Inoue, all of five years old, looked up. "Um, hi?" he hazarded. He got a few 'Aww's' from the crowd. "Hey, what was  
  
it like, having your mom play Queen Demonica?" someone asked.  
  
"Daddy kept saying 'please, my queen, not that.' one night when I was trying to go to sleep." Sam answered. Everyone went  
  
quiet. Seconds later, TK and Kari fell over laughing, as did a third of the audience. The rest had a massive case of the  
  
giggles. Absolutely clueless, Sam blinked, wondering why everyone except mom and dad was laughing.  
  
==  
  
"Um." Henry managed. Hitomi fought back a chuckle. That story had quickly passed into convention history. "I had no idea  
  
that the digidestined were all...otaku?"  
  
"Only Uncle Davis. He managed to get Takeru caught up in anime too, and usually managed to drag us in as well."  
  
Eevee snorted. "Like that time Davis convinced your mom and dad to dress you up as a Bronze Pichu Saint?" Hitomi blushed.  
  
At Henry and Takato's incredulous glance, he went on. "Yeah, from Saint Scyther. It was an old series that Davis got  
  
hooked on, said it was a lot funnier than Saint Seiya." The bell rang.  
  
"Please tell me you have a picture." Jeri asked Eevee, ignoring Hitomi's frantically shaking head.  
  
"I'll ask next chance I get. Oh, come on. I've seen it, you were adorable. Especially with the ears."  
  
"Did you have to bring that up?" Hitomi groaned. "Alright, back inside." she held out a pokeball, recalling Eevee.  
  
"Please don't tell anyone about this."  
  
"Sure." Jeri replied, trying not to giggle too much. "Saint Pichu." she added, and headed for class.  
  
==  
  
"Will you stop moping over her already?" Kazu groaned during the break before last class. "Geez, you're like, no fun to be  
  
around any more."  
  
"What do you mean?" Kenta asked, hurt. Kazu had been irritable for the last few days. "Moping over who?"  
  
"That Hitomi kid. I mean, what's come over you? Every time she's around, you turn into a complete dufus, you're always  
  
following her around. I mean, why not Jeri? At least that'd get a rise out of Takato."  
  
"Maybe Kenta has good taste." Jeri said, overhearing everything. "And maybe he knows better than to try to mess with  
  
something between..." Jeri stopped, blushing.  
  
"Oh!" Kazu said, brightening. "So there IS something between you and Takato, eh?" Annoyed, Jeri walked back to her desk  
  
and sat down. Hitomi entered the room a second later, just seconds before the bell.  
  
"Alright class, time for a quiz." Everyone groaned. Why did it have to be Mr. Cardynge for math?  
  
==  
  
"I know I bombed." Kazu moaned as he and Kenta exited the school.  
  
"What? It was just long division." Kenta replied, still a bit put out.  
  
"Yeah, and it took too long, alright? Why'd they send a university prof to teach us? This is cruel and unusual I tell  
  
you!"  
  
"Long division?" Henry asked, exiting the school. "We had to do Shakespeare. And Ms. Miller wants exact quotes. Must  
  
have been those donuts that were dumped in the pool a while back."  
  
"Oh great, it's coming back to haunt us all." Kenta sighed. "Good one, Kazu. We'll be doing nuclear physics by grade 6."  
  
"Well, at least you'll have a study partner, eh?" Kazu replied, elbowing Kenta. Henry rolled his eyes and headed off.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry about before, alright? Just...don't get cooties or anything, alright?"  
  
"Cooties?" Kenta asked. "What, are we back in first grade or something now?"  
  
==  
  
Reilly glanced at the monitor again. "I think...it looks like there's some interdimensional activity from the digital  
  
world, but I can't pin it down. Talli?"  
  
"Nothing here. Maybe the sensor's glitched up again? It hasn't worked right since Makuramon messed with it."  
  
Reilly stared at the screen. "There's something we're missing. Maybe..."  
  
==  
  
"This Saturday morning? I'm sorry, but I had plans with Ms. Asaji. Is it important?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"Not for the morning, no. I'm really interested in these Ultimate levels the digimon have been achieving. I just want to  
  
check on everyone's digimon. But I might need Eevee later. Will you be back by about...2:00?"   
  
Hitomi glanced at Ms. Asaji. "How about 2:00?" The teacher nodded. "That would be fine, Mr. Wong. Okay, thank you!"  
  
She  
  
hung up.  
  
"If it was important..." Ms. Asaji started to say.  
  
"They just want to check on all the digimon who've evolved to their ultimate levels." Hitomi replied. "I think they wanted  
  
Eevee to compare the readings with."  
  
"A baseline." Ms. Asaji said, nodding. "Well, the play should be over by noon, so we can have lunch before we stop by  
  
Hypnos. Is that alright?"  
  
"Sure. What kind of play is it?"  
  
"You'll love it." Nami replied. "Some actors from America are coming here and doing Shakespeare."  
  
==  
  
"Umm...no thanks." Rika said. "After Antylamon, Renamon..."  
  
"Sure." Henry replied. "We can fill you in later, alright?" The phone clicked, and Rika hung up.  
  
"Renamon?" Rika called. When the digimon didn't appear, Rika walked to her room, looking inside. Renamon was sitting near  
  
the window, staring out. Saying nothing, Rika walked in and sat by her partner.  
  
==Saturday  
  
Suzie was quickly stuffing a few things into her backpack. Henry and dad had taken Terriermon, and she hadn't even had a  
  
chance to try out that new dress she had gotten for Henry's 'doll'.  
  
"Oh dear." Suzie's mom said. "Janyu left his lunch behind. But I don't have the time to take it to him."  
  
"I'll do it mommy!" Suzie cried. "I'm big enough!"  
  
"Suzie...well, alright. But I'll have that nice Alice McCoy take you, alright?"  
  
"Yayy! Big sister Alice!"  
  
==McCoy residence  
  
Why, Alice wondered, is my blood running cold? She glanced at Dobermon, resting quietly, then went back to her homework.  
  
"Okay. Admiral Perry arrived in..." she glanced at the ringing phone. I could use a break, she decided.  
  
==Hypnos  
  
It wasn't quite the welcome that Reilly had hoped. Henry and Janyu had arrived, stared a bit warily at Yamaki, then went  
  
over to the Monster Makers. Yamaki had just finished explaining that he WASN'T trying to destroy all digimon any more, so  
  
could they please just drop it for now and get back to work? A few minutes later, Takato and Guilmon had entered, Guilmon  
  
had growled at Yamaki, then Takato calmed him down, stared warily at Yamaki, and got to work.  
  
Jeri, Gabumon following her, ran into the room. "Sorry I'm late everyone, I-" She stopped as she saw Yamaki. She glared  
  
at Yamaki, turned on her heel, and walked out.  
  
"Well, that was...different." Yamaki sighed. "But not unexpected."  
  
"Well, you can't blame her." Janyu replied.  
  
"Perhaps, but if she's not willing to work with us, then-"  
  
"I'll get her." Takato said, running out the door.  
  
==New Bark Town  
  
"I don't like it." Kyle said. "I know we need him, but I don't like it."  
  
"Well, this Yamaki person did put the Juggernaut program together. Maybe he can help seal up all the holes and stop the  
  
Devas from coming through." Izzy replied. "Don't worry. Janyu and Dolphin are keeping an eye on him. And as long as she  
  
has Eevee, nothing will happen to her."   
  
"Yeah." Kyle's Eevee added. "For a newcomer, he's advanced pretty quickly. I'd be surprised if he doesn't digivolve to  
  
his Ultimate level soon." At Kyle's shiver, he sighed. "They'll. Be. Fine. Hey, her Eevee has a fit if he's not within  
  
eyesight of her. Bit like you, Kyle."  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Kyle admitted. "Hey, where are your two houseguests?"  
  
"Kotemon and Houndour? Outside, I think Kotemon was practising." Izzy shrugged. "I wish Houndour would let me have  
  
another look at that egg."  
  
==Hypnos HQ, main floor  
  
"Jeri, wait up!" Takato gasped, coming out of the stairwell. "Boy, those are some serious stairs."  
  
Jeri stopped, glancing at Takato. "How can you work with...that monster?"  
  
Huh? Oh, you mean Yamaki? Well, we don't have much of a choice. He did kinda create the program that's opening up all  
  
the portals."  
  
"All I see is the monster that tried to hurt Hitomi." Jeri said firmly. Takato was a bit stunned. He had never seen this  
  
side of Jeri before. "And what he did to her...I'm sorry, I can't forgive it."  
  
Takato tried to think of something. "Well...you don't have to, I mean, I don't think any of us have. And Henry's dad and  
  
Mr. McCoy are keeping an eye on him, right?"  
  
"Well..." Jeri replied.  
  
"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure he won't try anything, alright? And if he does...well, I'll tie him up and give him to Suzie,  
  
how about that?"  
  
The image of Yamaki in a pink dress got a laugh out of Jeri. "Well, I guess...if it's you that's asking." She started  
  
laughing again as soon as she saw Takato's expression.  
  
"Takato! Jeri!"  
  
"Eh?" Takato, jolted out of his reverie, mumbled. "Oh, hi Suzie. What brings you here?"  
  
"Daddy forgot something at home and I had to bring it to him and Henry was all mean and took Terriermon away from me and he  
  
wouldn't tell me where he was going and mommy couldn't take me but Alice was able to but I seem to have lost her."  
  
"Does she even breathe?" Jeri asked, staring at Suzie.  
  
"There you are." Alice said, walking over. "Hello you two. Are we interrupting anything?"  
  
"You'll never know." Jeri replied, putting her arm around Takato's.  
  
"Yes, it's a mystery to all." Alice replied dryly. "Suzie?"  
  
"Oh, are they going all mommy and daddy on us?" Alice politely tried not to laugh as both Jeri and Takato blushed.  
  
==  
  
Kenta sighed, sure that he would be bored silly. Why did he have to go to some stupid play on a perfectly good Saturday  
  
morning?  
  
"Kenta?"  
  
Kenta glanced several people ahead, and spotted Hitomi waving. "Oh, hey. You get dragged here too?"  
  
"Actually." Nami answered for her, "I asked, and she was willing to come see it. And what brings you here?"  
  
"We do." Kenta's father said. "Too nice a day to be cooped up inside playing video games, eh?" He glanced at Hitomi.  
  
"So, you're Hitomi, eh?"  
  
"Dad!" Kenta hissed.  
  
"What? I was just going to say...ah, right." he winked, none too subtly, getting a confused look from Hitomi. "And Ms.  
  
Asaji. I hope our boy's not being too much trouble."  
  
"Not at all." Nami replied diplomatically. No sense bringing Kazu into it. "In fact, he's improved quite a bit."  
  
==Hypnos  
  
Yamaki stared at the readings on the screen. "Well, without a reading before he evolved, I can't say how Calumon's energy  
  
burst was able to influence Terriermon's evolution. Though I note that this sequence of DDNA here seems slightly  
  
irregular."  
  
"DDNA?" Henry asked.  
  
"Digital DNA." Dolphin answered. "When Digimon appear in this world, they have to synthesize physical bodies in order to  
  
survive; pure data would just fly apart here. The 'digital fields' you've encountered seem to create the DDNA for digimon  
  
to use."  
  
"We also know that this DDNA is fragile; if a digimon suffers enough damage, it disintegrates." Babel added. "Those  
  
fragments you see digimon break into when you defeat them is their DDNA disintegrating."  
  
"And the victorious digimon can absorb it to increase its own power." Yamaki finished. The dark tone of his voice  
  
indicated what he thought of the whole process.  
  
"Don't look at me!" Terriermon complained. "I haven't loaded anyone's data in ages!"  
  
"None of us have." Henry said. "Ever since Renamon managed to digivolve, come to think of it. Hey, what about Eevee?  
  
Didn't Hitomi say he was some kind of hybrid?"  
  
"I observed that, yes." Yamaki said. "Although Reilly destroyed the data after..." he trailed off. "Where is Reilly,  
  
anyway?"  
  
"Babysitting." Babel answered, aiming a grin at Janyu. "And Talli's up in the main scanner room."  
  
==A few levels down.  
  
"Wow." Suzie gasped. "This place is a lot bigger than home. But where's daddy?"  
  
Reilly smiled. "He's doing some very important work right now, and can't be disturbed."  
  
"But Alice got to go see him." Suzie whined.  
  
"Well, when you're a bit older, then you can go see where your dad works, alright?"  
  
==And back up...  
  
Alice stepped through the door, glanced at Yamaki, and walked over to Janyu. "You forgot your lunch." she explained,  
  
handing a small paper bag to the researcher. Slightly mortified, Janyu placed the bag on his desk, then motioned to a  
  
chair, allowing Alice to sit down. Dobermon sat by her, never taking his eyes off of Yamaki.  
  
I suppose I deserve this, Yamaki decided, and went back to work. "I'm transmitting our findings to Mr. Izumi on Hitomi's  
  
world."  
  
==Okay, at the play, Intermission *phew!*  
  
Hitomi took a sip from the lemonade Nami had bought her. It was a bit sweeter than she liked, but it was drinkable.  
  
"Kenta," she called, seeing the boy. "Where were you? We were up front, so we couldn't see you."  
  
"Oh, I was two rows back." Kenta replied. He had spent the first half of the play splitting his attention between the play  
  
and Hitomi. "So...enjoying it? I think I could get to like Shakespeare."  
  
"It's fun, yes." Hitomi answered. She resisted the urge to chuckle. In some ways, Kenta reminded her of Hiroki; Kenta  
  
acted a bit like Hiroki, especially when she was...  
  
Oh dear, Hitomi suddenly realized. A bell sounded, indicating that the play was about to resume. "We'll talk after the  
  
play." Hitomi said, then ran back to her seat.  
  
==New Bark Town.  
  
Izzy studied the readings he was getting from the scan he was doing of the alternate digital world. "Odd, I'm getting some  
  
strange power readings. It's almost as if..." Quickly, he keyed in a message. "Blocked? What's going on over there?"  
  
"What is wrong?" Kotemon asked, wandering in. Houndour followed him in.  
  
"There's something coming out of the digital world attached to the world Hitomi's on, and it's larger than any signature  
  
I've seen before."  
  
==Hypnos, main floor.  
  
Jeri, her arm around Takato's, stepped into the elevator. "Takato? Maybe...we can study together sometime?"  
  
Takato was sure that his reply would sweep Jeri off his feet. He opened his mouth, then the elevator they were in rudely  
  
decided to stop.  
  
==Lab  
  
"What was that?" Henry asked, knocked to the floor.  
  
"Massive power surge from the digital world, targeted at our mainframe!" Talli's voice said over the intercom. "I  
  
think..." her voice fizzled out, as a light grey mist started forming.  
  
"A digital field!" Dobermon gasped. "Here in Hypnos!"  
  
"They must be planning to destroy this place." Yamaki snarled. "I guess we were a bigger threat to them after all." He  
  
ran to a console and typed in a series of commands. Almost immediately, sirens and alarms started ringing.  
  
==1st floor.  
  
"Suzie, stay here, alright?" Reilly told the girl. "I'll get your brother to come get you, alright? Promise that you'll  
  
wait here for him, okay?"  
  
"*sniff* Okay. But...what if something attacks me?"  
  
"Hey, you're safe here. And I'll send your brother to get you as soon as possible."  
  
==Park  
  
Impmon stared at Calumon, flexing his fingers. He'd loaded quite a bit of data by now, and he was sure that the flying  
  
creampuff would trigger his evolution. If he didn't have that stupid freak living inside of him, he thought.  
  
"Alright, I'll just surprise him and take his data." He took a step forward, but stopped as grey mist started swirling  
  
around him.  
  
"Are you so sure, Impmon?" a voice asked.  
  
"Huh? Who said that? Come on out so I can zap ya."  
  
"You threaten Chatsuramon, Master of the Devas? Humorous. But I am not here to fight, Impmon."  
  
"What then?"  
  
"To talk of you, that human you are bound with...and your evolution..."  
  
==Park, near the play.  
  
"Hitomi!" Nami gasped. Everything had stopped as soon as the mist appeared. The two started looking around, wondering  
  
where the digimon would be attacking from.  
  
"I'll go check." Hitomi said. "You should get out of here."  
  
"I'm not letting you face some monster alone! What if..."  
  
Hitomi was speechless for a moment, taken aback by the emotion in Nami's voice. She put her arms around the teacher,  
  
reassuring her. "I'll be fine. But I have to at least find out what's appearing here before it breaks out of the digital  
  
field and starts attacking everyone." She got up, and headed out the exit, D-Arc in hand.  
  
"Be careful..." Nami said, then got up.  
  
Hitomi had gotten several feet away from the tent, and the mist was almost impossible to see through. "Eevee, come on  
  
out."  
  
Eevee appeared, and glanced around, fur already standing up. "Careful. Whatever's here is incredibly powerful. Maybe we  
  
should get one of the other tamers to help."  
  
"There's too many people here. If the digimon in the field attacks, we might have to hold it off." A hand touched her  
  
shoulder, causing her to yelp in surprise.  
  
"Hitomi!" Kenta gasped. "What are you doing out here?"  
  
"K...Kenta? You shouldn't be here, there might be a digimon attacking!"  
  
"Well, I saw you leave and...well, I wanted to help." he finished weakly.  
  
"Kenta..." Hitomi whispered. Then she had an idea. "Go and get Rika; her place is closer than the Hypnos building, where  
  
the other tamers are. Tell her to hurry." She gave Kenta a quick hug, then nodded to him. Kenta nodded back, and ran  
  
off, hoping he was headed in the right direction.  
  
==Hypnos  
  
"We have to get out of here." Alice said. "Suzie's in the building!"  
  
"WHAT?" Henry and Janyu both yelled.  
  
"She was with Ms. Reilly." Alice said defensively. "I'm sure she got her to a safe place."  
  
"If digimon are attacking, then I doubt any place in here would be safe." Yamaki noted, voice grim. "If we just knew where  
  
they were going to appear."  
  
"Right here, human worms!" a high pitched voice announced. A glowing disk appeared on the floor, and a small digimon came  
  
through it. It was a bizarre looking creature, a cross of a rat's head, spider's legs, and a metal sphere for a body.  
  
"Behold Khumbiramon, Messenger of the Devas and your doom!"  
  
"I'm not impressed." Dobermon snarled, advancing on the Deva. Alice had a card in hand, ready to use it.  
  
"They must be desperate if they sent a spare parts digimon. What, someone forget to read the manual when they put you  
  
together?" Terriermon cracked.  
  
"Terriermon." Henry muttered.  
  
"What? That shrimp's smaller than me! One stomp should take care of him. I mean, what could he possibly do?"  
  
Khumbiramon grinned, and the small rod on his back glowed, releasing bolts of greenish energy. The computers started to  
  
spark alarmingly. "Why do I set myself up like this?"  
  
"I may be small, but my power is the greatest of all the Devas. Now, arise fallen digimon, and claim your vengeance on the  
  
humans who destroyed you!"  
  
Yamaki's eyes widened as ghostly shapes started to appear. "You have been busy." Dolphin growled, picking up a chair and  
  
getting ready to defend himself. "Henry, make with the gun toting rabbit, like NOW, maybe?"  
  
"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Terriermon, digivolve to...Gargomon! Henry, aside from rat-boy, the rest are all rookies or low level champions. We can  
  
take 'em!"  
  
"You think?" Khumbiramon taunted. "Deva Clone!" he shouted, as several copies of Khumbiramon appeared.  
  
"I'm going to stop talking now." Gargomon groaned. "I'm tired of being this creep's straight 'mon.  
  
==  
  
Gabumon and Guilmon managed to force the Elevator doors open. "Takato, I smell digimon!" Guilmon warned.  
  
"Yeah, the mist was kind of a give-away." Takato replied. "But I don't see any digimon."  
  
"Ahh!" Jeri gasped. "Suzie's in here! We have to find her!"  
  
"We're about to be too busy." Gabumon growled as several ghostly digimon appeared. "And these halls are too small for us  
  
to digivolve in!"   
  
"Running sounds good." Takato suggested. "I don't think we can fight all of these digimon." As he spoke, the digimon  
  
started to solidify, all glaring at Takato and Jeri. Guilmon and Gabumon moved to defend them.  
  
"I don't think we have a choice. Ready?" Jeri said to Takato, taking a card out.  
  
"Would you believe me if I said yes?" he replied, voice quavering a bit, as he also took out a card.  
  
"Digi-Modify!"  
  
==New Bark Town  
  
Izzy worked frantically. Seconds ago, he had lost contact with Hypnos, and something *weird* had managed to detach itself  
  
from the digital world there and attach itself to the computer system inside Hypnos. "I've never heard of this happening!  
  
And I can't get through all the interference to find out what's happening!"  
  
"What do you think's happening?" Kyle asked, feeling helpless.  
  
"I think...I think they're being invaded by whatever's taken over the digital world there!"  
  
Kotemon and Houndour, carrying the digiegg she had found, ran in. "It is an invasion! I know it!" Kotemon said. "We have  
  
to get there now!"  
  
"We don't have anything close to a portal!" Ken replied, getting a little frantic. "We can't even communicate with them!"  
  
Kotemon said something unrepeatable, and glared at the main monitor. "Janyu." he said suddenly. At that word, the  
  
digivices around Kotemon and Houndour's necks lit up, and the monitor they were staring at resolved into a familiar image.  
  
"A Digiport." Izzy gasped. Then he saw the two monsters jump for it, vanishing as they did. "No, wait!" he cried, then  
  
felt Kyle pulling him backwards as the entire screen exploded.  
  
==Hypnos  
  
Gargomon dodged one digimon, a Gazimon, took aim at an attacking Black Agumon, and managed to thoroughly miss seeing the  
  
Mushroomon that went after Janyu. "Dad!" Henry yelled, unable to do anything to save his father.  
  
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kotemon shouted, sword out and appearing through a Digiport on one of the surviving computer screens in  
  
the room. His shinai, already wrapped in flames, sliced the Mushroomon in two, killing it.  
  
"So...you on our side?" Gargomon asked as everyone else, digimon included, stared at the newcomer.  
  
"Let's find out. Catch!" Kotemon yelled, taking the digivice from around his neck and throwing it to Janyu. He caught it,  
  
and it immediately shifted into a D-Arc. "Hmm. Where'd Houndour go?"  
  
==Floor down  
  
"Henryyy! Help me!" Suzie wailed.  
  
"Quiet, worm!" the Flarizamon replied darkly. "You shall soon be joining all the other humans in this building!"  
  
Flarizamon advanced on the young girl, claws out.  
  
"Back away from her."  
  
Flarizamon whirled around, staring at the newcomer. "Huh...who...You are no digimon!"  
  
"No. The name's Houndour, but you can call me the queen (bleep) of this junkyard."  
  
Suzie blinked. "Uh...I don't think daddy would like me hearing grown up words like that."  
  
"Way to wreck my entrance kid." Houndour sighed. She went over to Suzie's side. "Here, hold this for a second." she said,  
  
kneeling down and indicating the egg she was carrying in a sling on her back. Suzie took it, and accidentally brushed the  
  
digivice around the pokemon's neck. It shivered, then shifted into a pink-ringed D-arc.  
  
"Ahh...nuts." Houndour sighed again.  
  
"Language!" Suzie commanded.  
  
"Fine. Just let me take care of that overgrown firecracker first." She looked up and grinned at Flarizamon.  
  
(And no, it wasn't a very nice grin, either -ed)  
  
==Park  
  
Hitomi got to her feet, knocked over by something flying right over her head. It hadn't hit, but the wind it kicked up as  
  
it skimmed over the ground had been enough to send the tamer flying. Eevee ran over, concerned. "It's big." he said, a  
  
bit unnecessarily. "I think it might be a dragon type. Maybe an Airdramon, but I didn't see any wings."  
  
"Because I have no need of them. I am Majiramon, master of the skies and Deva. I, along with Khumbiramon, have been sent  
  
to avenge the deaths of my comrades that you and those other humans are responsible for." In the mist, Hitomi could just  
  
make out a long, serpentine shape circling above her.  
  
"Easy." Eevee said, noticing Hitomi start to tremble a bit. "I can take him, even without that overgrown featherduster's  
  
help. Just like we practised, alright?"  
  
Hitomi nodded, took a deep breath, and pulled a card out. "Digi-modify. Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Eevee, digivolve to...Jolteon!"  
  
"So, you have mastered the ability to digivolve." Majiramon observed. "A shame I must destroy you before I can learn your  
  
secrets. The Sovereign would be interested."  
  
"Send him this." Jolteon replied. "Zap Cannon!" The ball of lightning shot towards Majiramon, struck, and failed to do  
  
any damage whatsoever. "Pin Missile!"  
  
Majiramon hovered th4ere, simply taking the attacks without doing anything. "I commend your bravery, human and digimon.  
  
But my duty is clear." He shot up, and circled over Jolteon and Hitomi. "Treasure Arrow!" he called, summoning a swarm of  
  
arrows and dropping them on the two.  
  
==  
  
Rika wondered if this was what it was like to meditate. She and Renamon had sat staring out the window for what felt like  
  
hours now, neither one saying anything.  
  
Finally, Renamon looked over. "Thank you." she said quietly.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For being there. For giving me the strength to make the right choice."  
  
"But...Antylamon was your...your..."  
  
Renamon nodded, and looked out the window again. "She was not the Antylamon I knew back in the digital world. Something  
  
changed her, made her attack you. We must find who did this to her and make sure this does not happen again." She glanced  
  
up, and vanished.  
  
Yuka Nonaka entered Rika's room, looking troubled. "Rika? One of your friends is here, I think. It's that boy with the  
  
glasses that goes to Hitomi's school?" She glanced at Rika, curious. While Rika was the apple of her eye, and (in  
  
Rumiko's mind) the most beautiful daughter anyone was ever blessed with, she was a bit put out when a boy she had only seen  
  
glimpses of ran up to the doorstep and fairly yelled "I need Rika!"  
  
"Kenta? If he's looking for Hitomi, she's not here."  
  
Kenta chose that moment to burst in. "Park...digimon...Hitomi's fighting it alone!"  
  
"WHAT?" Rika shouted as Renamon appeared beside her. She glanced at her D-Arc. Nothing. "Renamon?"  
  
"I didn't sense...No, two of them. We have to go to her!"  
  
==  
  
Okay, maybe it does look a bit dumb, Henry thought as he saw his dad use the same motions he did as he slashed one of  
  
Henry's evolution cards. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Kotemon, digivolve to...Dino Humon!"  
  
"I guess it's official!" Gargomon called, blasting another digimon to dust. "I guess we'll have to take down the 'no  
  
grownups' sign on the clubhouse!"  
  
"Duck!" Dino Humon roared. On evolving, Dino Humon found that he was shorter now, maybe half again Janyu's size. Just as  
  
well, this room was built with humans in mind. The warrior digimon drew his shortswords and leaped at the nearest digimon,  
  
a Dokugumon that had appeared. "Lizard Dance!" he called, landing a number of slashes on the spider's body.  
  
"I did that?" Janyu gasped.  
  
"I guess you and Henry can really do some bonding now." Dolphin answered. "Maybe I should get a digimon partner too, so  
  
Alice and I can connect, eh?" Alice pointedly ignored her father, concentrating on aiding Dobermon.  
  
Yamaki frowned, still trying to get to one of the consoles. "I have an idea. Dolphin, Babel, I need...I need your help."  
  
==  
  
"I will have my revenge!" Sepikmon cackled, swinging his boomerang at Guilmon.  
  
"This isn't working!" Takato said to Jeri. "For every digimon we beat, two more take its place."  
  
"I know! Digi-Modify! Gargo Laser activate!" Jeri used a Gargomon card, giving Gabumon a chance to lay down suppressing  
  
fire (Oh, if only Takeru could see this. He'd be jealous. Trust me. -ed) "And we still have to get to Suzie! She's all  
  
alone in here!"  
  
Okay, Takato thought, time to say something heroic. He almost had it, when fate decided to mock him.  
  
A big black dog grabbed Sepikmon's boomerang, snapped it in two, and then incinerated Sepikmon with a stream of flame. "I  
  
hate playing fetch." Houndour growled. She then turned to the rest of the advancing digimon, and roared as loud as she  
  
could. Some of them backed off, a few of the braver ones still advanced.  
  
"Digi-modify! Metal Wolf claw, activate!"  
  
"Raaarr!" Guilmon howled, firing a large missile, which then split into several more, striking the oncoming digimon and  
  
freezing them.  
  
"Nice shot, red." Houndour commented, then glared at the remaining digimon. Suzie ran out from a doorway and wrapped her  
  
arms around Houndour.  
  
"Houndour! You were so brave back there!" Suzie wailed. "But we still have to do something about your language, young  
  
lady."  
  
"Please, tell me you want to trade!" Houndour begged Takato and Jeri.  
  
"Suzie..." Jeri hazarded. "Is that...your digimon?"  
  
"Uh-huh!" Suzie announced, holding up a pink-ringed digivice. "See, it changed when I touched it! Now I have a puppy dog  
  
just like big sister Alice's!"  
  
"Uh...right." Takato murmured. "Henry's not gonna like this." he whispered to Jeri. Jeri nodded, keeping an eye on the  
  
remaining digimon.  
  
==Elsewhere.  
  
"So, this...Yamaki, you called him, hates digimon?"  
  
"Yeah." Impmon huffed. "But scumbag works too. He tried to build some kind of super digimon destroyer in that weird  
  
building he runs. I think one of your Devas messed it up, though."  
  
"Ah, his Juggernaut. Humans are intelligent, in a mean, small-souled sort of way. Too dangerous to be left alone. That  
  
is how we Devas are able to come to the Human World."  
  
"So," Impmon asked, "what about you? Not that I mind havin' a friendly ear to bend, but I still don't get what you're  
  
gettin' out of all this."  
  
"We both see humans as an obstacle that must be destroyed. I merely have a...broader view than you. And I see great  
  
potential in you. It will be hard, it will be painful, but I think I can induce an evolution in you, with the  
  
right...equipment."  
  
==Park  
  
Calumon flew over to where Hitomi was fighting Majiramon. "She's fighting again." Calumon whispered. "I know, they're  
  
trying to stop that big meanie from destroying the city, but... really? Okay, but when it's time, can I come with you?  
  
Okay, sure!"  
  
Hitomi and Jolteon missed all of this. Jolteon was darting back and forth, trying to find a weak spot.  
  
Hitomi was just scared.  
  
One of her biggest fears when she got Eevee was that she would be, forever more, little more than a scared little girl who  
  
had to be saved by everyone around her. She knew, almost without a doubt, that she would never be good enough. "I...I  
  
wish Takeru was here."  
  
Jolteon stopped, stunned. "Huh?"  
  
"I...I'm not as brave...I'm not as good a trainer as he is!"  
  
"Intelligence." Majiramon noted, then dodged as Jolteon fired another ball of lighting at him. "I tire of this." Majiramon  
  
then regarded the digital field, seeking a way to break the walls confining him.  
  
Jolteon took advantage of the break to run over to his partner. "Are you out of your mind? Okay, I could see wishing that  
  
mom and dad were here, but...Takeru? Even...even Rika would be better than him."  
  
"Takeru's braver than I am." Hitomi replied, shakily.  
  
"He's an idiot!" Jolteon replied. "He's only braver 'cause he never thinks things through. Just like his dad."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Look. You're a great trainer. Yeah, Majiramon there's about 20 times bigger than both of us put together, he's an  
  
Ultimate, and he's...well, he's got us outgunned. Hey, no big. Digidestined like us have been putting these creeps on ice  
  
for, what, 30 years now? Come on, let's beat this nut and go home. I need to put Takeru in his place."  
  
"Can I come too?" Calumon said, flying over to Hitomi. "Unown's decided he wants to go home too, now, and he said I can  
  
come too, if I want to."  
  
"You'll help?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"Yep. I finally know what I am! I'm Calumon, and I can help digimon digio... dogibu... oh, that thing where they get all  
  
glowy and big!" As he spoke, the red triangle on Calumon's forehead shone. "Crystal Matrix activate!"  
  
"Eh?" Majiramon broke off his contemplation, staring at the ground. "The Catalyst! SO he does have the power of  
  
evolution!"  
  
"And you can't have it you...you big meanie!" Calumon yelled back.  
  
Hitomi's digivice was pulsing with light now. She took out a card, saw that it was a Renamon, and smiled. "We're going  
  
home!" she cried. As she did, the card turned blue. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Jolteon, Matrix digivolve to...Karatenmon!"  
  
==  
  
Chatsuramon looked up. "Ah. The Catalyst has used his power."  
  
Impmon blinked. "Huh? Cata-what? Hey, you don't mean that flying creampuff, do ya?"  
  
"I do, if you mean Calumon. Don't you know? He is the very essence of digivolution. With him, the Sovereign could end  
  
the war now and bring order to both worlds."  
  
"Huh. Who knew. But he's got some weird creature in him, too."  
  
"Easily handled." Chatsuramon answered. "But tell me everything you know about Calumon."  
  
==  
  
Kyuubimon, carrying both Rika and Kenta, tore into the park. Spotting the digimon, Nami ran over. "She went that way!"  
  
Nami said, pointing towards the middle of the park. Rika and Kenta glanced in that direction; the mist from the digital  
  
field had dissipated, leaving a large dome. The dome then burst, and two digimon shot out of it.  
  
"Hitomi!" Nami and Rika both yelled.  
  
"Majiramon!" Kyuubimon hissed. "But I don't recognize the second one."  
  
Rika glanced at her D-Arc. An image appeared of the second digimon. "Karatenmon. Ultimate level Vaccine type digimon.  
  
Special attacks are Shadow Flash and Raven blades."  
  
"Huh?" Kenta asked. "I thought Karatenmon was a virus type digimon."  
  
Rika opened her mouth to reply, then glanced at the readout again. "No, make that Vaccine...Normal? It's a hybrid  
  
digimon!" She glanced at the picture, and realized that, unlike the Karatenmon on the cards, this one wore a broad-brimmed  
  
hat, and that it's beak was a bit longer.  
  
"There!" Nami yelled, pointing at Karatenmon. "He's got Hitomi with him!" Indeed, Karatenmon had Hitomi with him, the  
  
tamer nestled in one of the bird digimon's arms.  
  
"I guess Eevee figured she'd be safer with him than on the ground." Kenta reasoned.  
  
"Where's Calumon?" Rika wondered. "I think we're going to need Taomon for this one."  
  
"Majiramon is one of the strongest of the Devas." Kyuubimon agreed. "And being able to fly would be an asset in this  
  
fight."  
  
"Someone call?" Calumon asked, wandering over. "Oh, hi Rika! Isn't Hitomi's partner neat? Getting all big and flying off  
  
into the night to chase away that awful meanie?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Listen, I need to digivolve Kyuubimon to Taomon." Calumon nodded. "Well?"  
  
"Well, what?"  
  
Rika counted to ten (quickly), and spoke more slowly. "I need you to use your power to help Kyuubimon digivolve."  
  
"Well...I don't think you really need me for that."  
  
"Huh?" Kenta asked. "But I thought you were digivolution itself or something." Rika made a note to have a word with  
  
Takato about how much he told Kenta later. "Don't you like, light up and shoot a big beam of energy?"  
  
"Oh, that? Well, I think I just showed you how to do it, really. You just have to want it to happen."  
  
"You're joking, right?" Rika asked.  
  
"Please, Rika, try it!" Nami begged. Rika glanced at Nami, stunned.   
  
"Alright." Rika replied, taking a card out. Hitomi, you'd better not die up there, she thought as the card turned blue.  
  
"Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"  
  
"Kyuubimon, Matrix Digivolve to...Taomon!"  
  
==Hypnos  
  
Yamaki worked furiously at the console while the battle raged around him. "This isn't good!" he yelled. "The portal isn't  
  
shrinking; I think it's actually expanding!"  
  
"At least the digimon are letting up!" Henry called. "Gargomon, behind you!"  
  
Gargomon started to turn to face the Allomon that was jumping him, then relaxed a bit as Dobermon tackled it. "Thanks!" he  
  
called.  
  
"Keep them back!" Janyu yelled. "We've almost got a solution...okay, NOW!"   
  
"Activate Yuugoth!" Babel grinned, finger stabbing a button. Instantly, all the attacking digimon stopped, only the kids'  
  
(and one adult's) digimon remaining unaffected. "Yes! One limited field Yuugoth capture program, by yours truly!"  
  
"You mean 'us', Babel." Dolphin replied, smirking. Why DID Daisy ever give up this line of work, just to be a police  
  
officer?"  
  
"Her loss." Janyu sighed as the imprisoned digimon dissipated. "Now we just have to find Khumbiramon. I think he might be  
  
too powerful to be affected by the program."  
  
"You mean that small rat guy?" Takato asked, entering the room.  
  
"Takato!" Henry gasped. "Where's Suzie?"  
  
"Oh, she's fine..." he glanced down the hall. Curious, Henry looked down the hall, and saw Suzie, Jeri, Gabumon, and a  
  
large black dog, faintly resembling Dobermon. "Houndour," Takato continued, "Meet Henry. Henry, this is Houndour.  
  
Suzie's...partner."  
  
"Ha ha, Takato. Very funny."  
  
"Hennnryyy!" Suzie yelled, running over and waving her digivice around. "I have a puppy now just like Alice's and now  
  
daddy has to buy me all those pretty black dresses like Alice has!"  
  
"Shoot me. Please." Houndour tried to mutter, teeth firmly latched onto a still struggling Khumbiramon.  
  
==Park  
  
Majiramon glanced at Karatenmon, impressed. "You digivolved to the Ultimate level. You continue to surprise me. But  
  
bringing your human along shows that you are weak. Your devotion to that pathetic creature will be your end."  
  
"It's my devotion to Hitomi that made my evolution possible." Karatenmon snarled, not impressed. "But I guess I'll have to  
  
hammer that lesson into your thick skull the hard way, antler-face."  
  
"How quaint. Vedaka!" From Majiramon's mouth came a massive bolt of energy, shaped like a giant arrow. Wings flapping,  
  
Karatenmon dodged the missile. "You can't use your full power and keep your pet safe. Unless she can grow wings, fool!"  
  
"Hitomi?" Karatenmon asked. "Well, she is an angel, but I won't ask her to show off her wings. Rika might get jealous,  
  
you know. But speaking of wings...Shadow Flash!" Karatenmon's wings opened full up, and two blasts of black energy shot  
  
out, striking the dragon in the face. His free arm snapped forward, sword crackling with electric energy, and sliced off a  
  
piece of one of Majiramon's antlers. "Slow or quick, you're going to lose." Karatenmon said slowly, voice filled with  
  
menace.  
  
"I think not. One of your arms is still occupied with your pet." Majiramon smirked, confident he would win.  
  
"Allow me." Taomon said, appearing beside Karatenmon. With a wave of her arm, she created a ghostly Yin-Yang symbol, and  
  
set Rika down on it. "This will keep Hitomi safe while you finish this Deva."  
  
"Thanks." Karatenmon replied, setting Hitomi on the spell-platform beside Rika. "I've got a few things to settle with  
  
scaleface over there. Keep an eye on Hitomi, alright?"  
  
"She will be safe." Taomon replied sombrely. "I will aid you, if you request it. Or not." she said as Karatenmon drew his  
  
remaining sword.  
  
Karatenmon shot at Majiramon, now completely free to act. The Deva thought to distract him by launching an attack at  
  
Hitomi and Rika, but it was blocked by Taomon, giving Karatenmon a chance to cut two long gashes down Majiramon's body.  
  
The two then truly set at each other, Majiramon's long snakelike body twisting around to avoid Karatenmon's blades.  
  
"Here." Rika said, as she and Hitomi watched the battle. "Use this card." Unnoticed, Taomon arched an eyebrow.  
  
"A Hyper Speed card?" Hitomi gasped as she took it from Rika. "Rika..."  
  
"Hey, don't get all mushy on me, alright? Taomon just wants to see how good Karatenmon is."  
  
Smiling, Hitomi nodded. "Digi-modify! Hyper-Speed Activate!"  
  
"Ohh YEAH!" Karatenmon yelled as he felt his speed increase. He easily dodged another swarm of arrows, then, both swords  
  
out, began crackling with electrical energy. "Hey, Majiramon! One last thing before I finish this fight!"  
  
"What?" Majiramon roared, gathering his power for one final assault.  
  
"When fighting a digimon with a human partner: NEVER attack the partner. Just makes us mad! Raven Blades!" Wrapped in  
  
energy, Karatenmon shot -through- Majiramon, appearing again on the other side of him. Majiramon disintegrated, data  
  
flying apart. "Heh. Piece of cake."  
  
"Not bad." Taomon replied. "But I could have done it in half the time."  
  
"Keep telling yourself that, feather duster."   
  
"Plush toy." Taomon replied.  
  
Rika shook her head. "This is all your fault." she said to Hitomi. "That overgrown gerbil's a bad influence on her."  
  
"Um...I'm sorry?"  
  
  
  
"AND QUIT APOLOGIZING!"  
  
==Hypnos  
  
"Okay, we're all cleaned out." Janyu announced. "Now...Suzie, I know that this...Houndour?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm not to thrilled about it either." Houndour replied.  
  
"Huh?" Henry suddenly asked. "Hey, what's wrong with Suzie?"  
  
"Look, I'm a Houndour. Dark pokemon. Scourge of the night, y'know?"  
  
"I think you two make a nice match." Kotemon observed. "She's obviously already accepted you as her partner." (And he  
  
switched back off-screen. -ed)  
  
"No-one's accepting anything!" Janyu almost demanded. "After all that's just happened, do you think I really want Suzie to  
  
go off to who knows where fighting giant monsters?"  
  
"Henry does it!" Suzie countered. "I can too!"  
  
"NO!" Both Janyu and Henry said, then stopped, glancing at each other. "We've lost this fight, haven't we?" Janyu asked  
  
Henry. Suzie had already wrapped both arms around Houndour's neck. Helplessly, Henry nodded. "I'm too old for this.  
  
Well?"  
  
"Khumbiramon is contained." Yamaki said. "But...oh no..." Yamaki backed away from the terminal he was working on. "We  
  
have to shut down Juggernaut NOW!" he tried to say, but the building decided to interrupt him.  
  
"What's happening?" Dolphin shouted as everyone was knocked to the floor by what seemed like an earthquake.  
  
Reilly and Talli burst through the door. "Everyone, out of the building!" both said, then ran.   
  
Outside, everyone looked up and saw that a giant green...something was floating over the top of the Hypnos building. All  
  
the digimon were bristling.  
  
"What is this power I'm feeling?" Kotemon wondered. "Is this that Juggernaut device?"  
  
"No!" Gabumon said. "It's a digimon!"  
  
"A Deva?" Jeri asked.  
  
"No." Dobermon said. "This is bigger..."  
  
"HUMANS." A powerful voice thundered. "YOU HAVE DESTROYED MY AGENTS, BUT TO NO AVAIL. FOR THEIR PASSING HAS GIVEN ME THE  
  
POWER TO ENTER YOUR WORLD MYSELF. BEHOLD THE INSTRUMENT OF YOUR DESTRUCTION. I, BAIHUMON, SWEAR THAT THIS DAY, THE EARTH  
  
ITSELF SHALL DIE!"  
  
==Next Episode  
  
Baihumon attacks, and all of the tamers must join together to fight this powerful new menace. But can even all of their  
  
powers combined be enough to defeat Baihumon, a Mega-level digimon? And why is Impmon attacking Yamaki? Next time, on  
  
Digicross Tamers:  
  
'Rally! Defeat the king of the west, Baihumon!' 


	21. Digicross Tamers 21 'Rally! Defeat the ...

"I thought he'd be bigger." Rika said, unknowingly voicing her thoughts. She, Hitomi, and their digimon partners watched as the energy field broke off from over the Hypnos building, and drifted slowly to their position. Out of it stepped a large white tiger, with pieces of armour covering it.  
  
"The Baihumon my father knew was able to change his size and shape." Hitomi answered. Rika realized that she'd said that last part aloud, and berated herself. "But of all the Guardians, he was the kindest of them. He was the reason my parents met." Hitomi went on.  
  
"I doubt that this guy's the same." Karatenmon said, never taking his eyes off of the approaching mega-level digimon.  
  
"What happened to the Baihumon in your world?" Rika asked.  
  
Hitomi swallowed. "He was killed by an evil Imperialdramon."  
  
Good, Rika thought to herself. "That means we can take this one." She saw Hitomi nod, a little nervous, and smiled. She drew a card out and glanced at Taomon. "Ready?"  
  
"Always, Rika." Taomon replied sombrely.

**_Digicross Tamers episode 21_**

**_'Rally! Defeat the king of the west, Baihumon!'_**

Yamaki scowled at the damage Baihumon's entry to this world was causing. He could hear, faintly, the sound of electronics exploding as the digimon's presence caused the systems to overload. He looked around. Everyone was out, including the children and their pe...no, their partners, he corrected himself. "What came out?" he asked.  
  
Dobermon, standing protectively beside Alice, glared towards the park. "Baihumon." he said. "One of the Sovereign."  
  
Reilly gasped. "'One of'? I thought that the Sovereign was one digimon!"  
  
"No." Dobermon answered. "The Sovereign is our name for the four strongest digimon in the digital world. I believe you call them mega-level digimon. It is they who are in charge of defending the digital world as a whole. Each of the Sovereign controls three of the Devas. At least, that's how it was when I left. For one of the Sovereign to come here is...unprecedented. It would be like using an atomic bomb to put out a house fire." He glanced at Alice. "If we are to have any hope of stopping him, we must move now." Dobermon glanced at Alice, and the two started running for the park.  
  
"That's where Rika and Hitomi are!" Jeri gasped. "Come on!" she yelled, as she and Gabumon ran off. Takato quickly followed her, Guilmon following Takato.  
  
"Big sister Alice!" Suzie squealed, starting to run, but was blocked by her father and Henry. "Let me go! Daddy!"  
  
"No, Alice." Janyu said firmly. "You're too little. Houndour?" The pokemon looked up at him. "Make sure she stays away from the battle, alright?"  
  
"Normally, I don't run from a fight." Houndour replied. "But...hey, isn't that YOUR job?"  
  
"No, because I'm going with Henry." Henry blinked, startled. "Well, now that Kotemon's my partner, I should be able to go see what all this 'digimon taming' business is about."  
  
"Dad." Henry moaned. "Just...don't copy my card slashing technique, alright?" Glancing at Terriermon, he asked "is this sounding a bit surreal?"  
  
"No, but I am loving it." Terriermon replied. "Come on, let's save your girlfriend."  
  
"Alice IS NOT..." Henry almost snarled. "Let's just get on with it. I...hey, where's Khumbiramon?"  
  
"I thought one of you took him away." Houndour answered. "The last I saw him, he was in the control room, being stuffed inside one of those containment things."  
  
Talli glanced up at the tower, wincing at some of the electrical sparks she saw coming out of the building. "Those units don't have an independent power supply." she said ominously.  
  
"Go." Yamaki said. "Baihumon is the larger threat. Reilly, keep an eye on Miss Wong." he glanced at Suzie, who stepped back. "As for the rat Deva..." he hefted the rifle he had used to menace the tamers not too long ago, and smirked. "I'll handle him."  
  
"And you'll need the Juggernaut system." Dolphin added, throwing a querying look at Babel, who nodded. "If we can restore the original program, we might be able to take Baihumon down a few pegs." He saw Janyu's concern, and waved his hand. "Go, be with your son. I'll do what I can here. Just...make sure Alice is alright, okay?"  
  
"Will do." Janyu replied, as he and his son moved off for the park.  
  
Chatsuramon nodded to the portal. "Come with me, Impmon. Your destiny lies back in your home, not on this dead world."  
  
"Dead?" Impmon asked, unimpressed. "Seems pretty lively to me."  
  
"Only a formality. Once we retrieve the Catalyst, we can finish our work here and in the digital world, and bring order to everything."  
  
"I don't care about order or chaos." Impmon replied, a bit put out. "I just want to be the strongest. And yeah, that includes being stronger than you, Fido."  
  
Chatsuramon tried not to laugh. "Of course.  
  
"And what's this 'Catalyst' you're talkin' about?"  
  
Chatsuramon thought for a second. "You would know him as...Calumon, yes, that was his name. Did you not know? Calumon is not a real digimon, but is instead the very essence of evolution, given physical form." The Deva snorted at Impmon's expression. "His is the power that enables digimon to evolve. I believe those humans have been using him to evolve their digimon."  
  
"Huh. The little creampuff actually is good for something. Hey, what about that weird squiggle that he merged with?"  
  
"'Squiggle'? Please, tell me all you know. And tell me of this...Yamaki too. I would like to have words with that one."  
  
A bit worried, Taomon thrust her arms forward, sending out a barrage of ofuda at Baihumon, all of which hit and exploded. No effect. From a different angle, she saw Karatenmon release two black streams of energy, his Shadow Flash attack, with similar results. Oddly, there were no counter attacks from Baihumon. Instead, he was ignoring the two attacking digimon, and heading slowly towards...Taomon's eyes went wide as the realisation hit her. "Rika! Hitomi! RUN! It's you Baihumon's after!"  
  
As if on cue, Baihumon roared, and made a wild leap at the two girls. Snarling, Karatenmon went straight for Baihumon's throat, swords out.  
  
"Hyper Speed Activate!" Moving at incredible speeds, Leomon ran over, grabbed the two, and got them clear of Baihumon's strike, placing them down near where the other tamers had gathered..  
  
Nami ran over and hugged Hitomi. "I found the others coming this way, so I led them here. Are you and Rika alright?"  
  
Hitomi nodded. "Where's Kenta?" (He got sent back to his home. Poor guy. -ed)  
  
"Later!" Rika said, still a bit unsteady. "Wait, Calumon, where is he?"  
  
"Right here!" Calumon waved, flying over and landing on Rika's head. "Is that big tiger a friend?"  
  
"No, that big tiger is going to eat us." Takato answered. "Uh oh..." Baihumon had swatted Karatenmon away, and was advancing on the humans again. "Umm...okay, I think we could use some help now, Calumon?"  
  
"YOU don't need me now!" Calumon said cheerfully.  
  
"He's right." Rika explained. "We just have to...want it to happen." That sounds so corny, Rika mentally groaned.  
  
"Makes sense." Henry nodded. "The cards are just a focus for us, right?" he asked Calumon, who shrugged. "Right, forgot who I was talking to."  
  
"Henry!" Janyu said, a bit shocked.  
  
"Wow, Rika must be rubbing off on you."  
  
"Terriermon." Both Henry and Janyu warned. Rika chose to ignore Terriermon, as well as the faint smile Alice suddenly had.  
  
"It's good to see you again, Hitomi." Kotemon said, nodding to the tamer.  
  
"You know me?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"We'll talk later. Janyu?" Janyu nodded, staring at he card. He gasped as the card seemed to vibrate, then turned blue!  
  
"Yeah, like that!" Henry said, doing the same with his card. Quickly, the other tamers did likewise.  
  
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!" everyone shouted.  
  
"Guilmon, matrix digivolve to...Wargrowlmon!"  
  
"Terriermon, Matrix digivolve to...Rapidmon!"  
  
"Leomon, Matrix Digivolve to...Grappleomon!"  
  
"Dobermon, Matrix Digivolve to...Black Were Garurumon!"  
  
"Kotemon, Matrix Digivolve to...Kyuukimon!"  
  
"Woah..." Takato gasped. "Did we just...skip the Champion level? Wow, what a blast."  
  
"Everyone...ATTACK!" Black Were Garurumon snarled, leaping forward.  
  
Hypnos  
  
Yamaki and Talli stalked the halls, searching for Khumbiramon. With them were Dolphin and Babel, the two monster makers, both watching the walls, expecting a giant horde of monsters to explode out at them.  
  
"Once we get back to the control room, you won't have much time to get Juggernaut back on-line" Yamaki whispered. "Talli, once they're done, take them out of here and link up with Reilly at Site 2. I'll stay here and activate Juggernaut. Oh, and tell the tamers to get clear of the target zone. I can't guarantee that the aiming program will be fully functional."  
  
"Sir?" Talli asked. "Oh...the automatic firing sequence must be offline." Yamaki nodded. Talli heard something metallic, spun around, and saw nothing. Then Babel knocked her over as Khumbiramon, shouting almost incoherently, leaped out of a half-opened door, trying to rake the technician's face.  
  
Snarling, Yamaki aimed his rifle and fired, drawing some pleasure from the fact that, somewhere, Impmon was in a lot of pain right now.  
  
Between Worlds  
  
Impmon doubled over, howling in pain. "That...Hey, Rover, take me back! I'm gonna MURDER that freakjob!"  
  
"The human you are partnered with? He is doing this to you?"  
  
"Yeah, he's got some sort of crazy gun. It feels like I'm getting slammed in the gut with a sledgehammer every time he uses it on another digimon. I think he put one of those toys those kids use on their digimon in it."  
  
Chatsuramon looked at the small blue sphere contemplatively. "Yes...perhaps we should pay Mr. Yamaki a visit..."  
  
Park  
  
As the battle carried on, Hitomi remembered some of Kari and Izzy's stories about their battles against the four Dark Masters. Especially the part about how seven Ultimate level digimon were no match for a single Mega- level digimon. Well, there were seven Ultimate digimon here, all fighting one Mega digimon...and having about as much effect.  
  
"Baihumon!" Grappleomon roared. "Why are you here? Why have you sent the Devas here?"  
  
"You know that already, traitor." Baihumon growled. "For Calumon, he who's true power you cannot begin to appreciate. For vengeance, against this world that tries to destroy ours, and for the Devas, who's lives and data you have..." Baihumon stopped, sniffing the air. "You have not...absorbed their data...You have denied them even this last honour? DIE!"  
  
"I think he's mad." Rapidmon commented, dodging a claw swipe. Snarling, Wargrowlmon moved forward, trying to grab Baihumon's head.  
  
"No, don't!" Hitomi yelled, too late. Baihumon's mouth opened up, and Wargrowlmon was blown back by a powerful bolt of energy.  
  
"We cannot defeat him at close range!" Taomon said, launching another mystical attack. "Everyone, stay back and hit him from a distance!"  
  
Kyuukimon, who had been hanging back, shook his head. "I don't do long range." he answered. "Blade Twister!" he shouted, spinning in place, arms extended. Kyuukimon had no hands, his arms ending in a pair of ultra-sharp blades. The pink and white whirlwind suddenly jumped up, and flew into Baihumon, arms carving gashes in the mega's hide.  
  
"NOW!" Henry yelled. "Digi-Modify! Offence Plug-in A activate!"  
  
"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon shouted, launching a barrage of powered up missiles at Baihumon's injured side.  
  
The 'fight' with Khumbiramon was almost anticlimactic, in Talli's mind. Two shots from Yamaki's digimon rifle had weakened the Deva to the point that a swift kick from Babel had put it out of the fight. Now, the Deva was inside a containment bottle, which had been hastily patched into the emergency power system. "Juggernaut's been 48% restored." Dolphin called, while he and Babel worked madly at the remaining terminals. "Talli, how about the targeting system?"  
  
"I've narrowed it down to the park." she reported. "And I have the scanner back online..." One of the screens lit up, showing the battle in progress. "It's not good. According to those readouts, Baihumon is many times stronger than all of the kids digimon."  
  
"Hear that?" Dolphin asked. "Janyu's now a 'kid'. I feel old."  
  
"You know what I meant." Talli replied, voice a bit cold. "Okay, I think I can aim Juggernaut well enough to hit Baihumon, but the other digimon will have to move at least 500 meters away, or they'll be caught in the effect."  
  
"It'll have to do." Yamaki answered, still on guard. "Dolphin, Babel, how long until Juggernaut's ready to go?"  
  
"Another few minutes." Babel replied. "The only real problem is limiting the scope from city-wide, which would be useless because of the reduced power we have available, to hit just one digimon. In a way, it's a good thing this building's taken so many hits; we need fewer broadcast systems, and the auto-system's already taken the damaged ones off-line, meaning we have a narrower beam. And relax." he added, not looking at Dolphin. "Alice will be fine."  
  
"Thanks." Dolphin replied, still working.  
  
"There." Chatsuramon said grimly. "That is the part of the server that we can use to get into this 'Hypnos' place. I would meet the man who would destroy all of us."  
  
"I'd rather you eat him and that freaky gun of his." Impmon snarled. "But not before I get my shot in, understand?"  
  
Kyuukimon tried to dodge Baihumon's Iron Claw, but was caught, and sent spinning away, reverting to Kotemon as he landed. Janyu and Hitomi ran over. "Kotemon!" Janyu said, worried.  
  
"I am fine." Kotemon managed, sitting up. "Though I think I am out of this fight for now." He glanced at Hitomi. "Your parents would be proud, if they saw you now." he said. At her confusion, he went on. "Forgive me. I evolved from the Tyrogue that Hiroki had."  
  
"You're...Hiroki's?" Hitomi asked, face lighting up.  
  
"Actually, I'm his now." Kotemon answered, nodding to Janyu. "A Houndour and I came here when we felt that Mr. Wong and his daughter were in danger."  
  
"Then the portal home...?"  
  
"I don't know." Kotemon said sadly. "At the time, all I could think of was getting here safely." Hitomi's face fell a bit. "But," he added, "we know it is possible to get you home now." He nodded back to where the other tamers were. "I think you're needed again." Hitomi got up and ran over.  
  
Janyu helped Kotemon up. "So...Hiroki's her boyfriend, right?"  
  
"What was your first clue?" Kotemon answered.  
  
Meanwhile, back in New Bark Town...  
  
Izzy worked frantically at the keyboard, trying to stabilise the portal. "It's no good!" he snarled. "When Kotemon and Houndour went through, it must have upset the link we have with the world Hitomi's on!"  
  
From a second console, Ken looked up. "Power levels are going nuts...GET OUT, IT"S GOING TO BLOW!" Not waiting, Ken jumped up, grabbed Izzy by the shirt collar, and dragged him out of the lab, seconds before the portal exploded.  
  
"No..." Izzy gasped. "The portal is...is..."  
  
"We can rebuild it." Ken said grimly. "We were planning to anyway, right?"  
  
Okay, back to the fight...  
  
"Takato, Rika!" Henry called, pulling out three cards. "Use these! The rest of you, try to give us some time!"  
  
"Got it!" Karatenmon yelled, tossing one of his swords to Black Were Garurumon. "Grappleomon!"  
  
"Lion Killing Wave!" Grappleomon shouted, firing a massive pulse of energy at Baihumon. Dashing in just behind the blast, Karatenmon and Black Were Garurumon made lightning fast slashes at the giant tiger, inflicting some more damage on it.  
  
"We're not doing enough damage." Alice observed. "All we're doing is scratching him. At this rate, we'll be here all night. If we survive." She glanced at Calumon, standing behind Rika and peeking out every now and then to cheer the digimon on.  
  
"Don't count us out yet." Karatenmon said, seeing Hitomi take another card out.  
  
"Digi-modify! Imperialdramon's Positron Laser activate!"  
  
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Karatenmon grinned as the cannon appeared on his right arm. "Alright, here's a move from back home...POSITRON SABER!" Focussing the beam of the Cannon into a relatively short length, Karatenmon swooped down, managing to land a severe blow to Baihumon's back, out of reach of his claws.  
  
"Saber?" Takato asked. "Shouldn't that be laser?"  
  
"Hitomi told me about it." Jeri answered, eyes not leaving the battle. "It's like a giant lightsaber that her parents used when they fought an evil Imperialdramon."  
  
"Cool." Takato breathed. "Gundam-y, but cool."  
  
"Something's not right." Janyu said, watching this. "Baihumon's barely fighting back. If he's as powerful as everyone says, then why are we able to do so much damage to him?"  
  
Hypnos  
  
"Juggernaut is online!" Babel said, pumping his fist. "Okay, start the program and let's get out of here! If this doesn't work, this building's going to be the first thing that goes!"  
  
"No, you will!" Chatsuramon roared, tearing a rift open and charging through.  
  
"RUN!" Yamaki ordered, bringing his rifle around and firing. Chatsuramon dodged the blast, and, before Yamaki could fire again, side-stepped and allowed Impmon through. The small digimon ploughed into Yamaki and the two started wrestling with each other. "GO!" Yamaki said again. Everyone left, Talli keying in a quick command before she got up and ran. Good, Yamaki thought as he tried to bite Impmon's ear. Now they'll have to destroy the entire building to stop the Juggernaut.  
  
"I'll stuff that rifle down your throat!" Impmon snarled.  
  
An image of Ryo flashed before Yamaki's eyes. Eyes narrowing, Yamaki snarled "I won't need my rifle to tear you apart, monster!"  
  
Chatsuramon watched the two fight, mildly interested. Then he heard frantic poundings coming from off to the side. Curious, he padded over, and saw Khumbiramon trying to claw his way out. "Ah, Khumbiramon. You're looking well."  
  
"Get me out of here! Chatsuramon, please!" Khumbiramon begged.  
  
"The deal," the dog Deva said, almost conversationally, "was that you were to kill the humans. And you failed. Is this making any sense?"  
  
"Please, it wasn't my fault!"  
  
"Oh, silence, rat. You were better off as a messenger boy. Why you were made a Deva is still beyond my reasoning capacity."  
  
Yamaki struggled with Impmon; all of his loaded data made him much stronger than his small frame would have suggested. Finally, with a crunch, Yamaki was able to throw Impmon off. He brought the rifle up and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.  
  
"Looking for this?" Impmon asked, clutching Yamaki's D-Arc in his had, bits of wire attached to the black digivice. "Let's see how you do without the hardware!" He leaped forward, but Yamaki revered his grip on the rifle, swung, and managed to send the small demon digimon flying across the room.  
  
"Impressive, for a human." Chatsuramon observed. "I can see why the sovereign considers you humans a threat."  
  
"Come closer, and see how much of a threat we are, creature." Yamaki kept his grip on the ruined weapon.  
  
"No need for that, Mr. Yamaki. Or should I say Akiyama?" Yamaki stopped, rifle lowering a bit. "Yes, I can see the resemblance between you and Ryo. He has proved as much a thorn in our side as you have. What if I were to tell you that your son is now alive in the Digital World? I could bring you to him."  
  
"You lie!" Yamaki snarled.

Park  
  
Rika, Henry, and Takato all slashed their cards at once. "Digi-Modify! Trinity Burst Activate!"  
  
With an almost subsonic whine, Taomon, Rapidmon, and Wargrowlmon glowed brightly, seemed to merge together, and made a single lancing strike at Baihumon, the tiger unable to dodge the attack in time.  
  
Renamon, Guilmon, and Terriermon appeared on the far side, exhausted. "Okay, THAT had to have done it." Terriermon sighed. "Nothing could have survived that."  
  
"Except Baihumon." Renamon snarled, seeing the tiger, badly wounded now, manage to get back to its feet. Oddly, its skin was no longer white, but was pulsing with a faint red glow.  
  
"Ah nuts!" Guilmon whined. "Takato, he won't stay down!"  
  
Takato was about to pull another card out, when Hitomi's pokegear rang. Hitomi opened it up, listened to the message, and nodded. "We have to get out of here." Hitomi whispered to Takato. "They're about to activate the Juggernaut!"  
  
Rika and Henry overheard this, and told the other tamers to start pulling back. Baihumon snapped at the digimon as they tried to edge around, Guilmon alternating between flinching and trying not to go berserk and attack the tiger by himself.  
  
"Break!" Janyu yelled. Everyone ran, leaving a confused Baihumon behind.  
  
Hypnos  
  
"You cannot beat us." Chatsuramon said to Yamaki. "Why not join us?"  
  
"I don't have to beat you." Yamaki answered, glancing at his watch. "I just need to stall you for another minute."  
  
"Ah, good, you've activated the Juggernaut. Excellent." Yamaki's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Didn't you know? This whole exercise was to get you to use the Juggernaut program. The Devas, sending Baihumon in, all of it was to force you to use the program that weakens the wall between our two worlds."  
  
"No...that's not...we wiped all of Makuramon's changes!"  
  
"Fool." Chatsuramon laughed. "We were born in the computers you cherish so, we were easily able to alter your weapon to suit our needs!"  
  
"Your Sovereign is still out there, and the Juggernaut will kill him!"  
  
Chatsuramon shrugged. "He is expendable. All we want is for you to open a rift between our worlds, which your Juggernaut will do quite well for us."  
  
"No..."  
  
"Hey...Yamaki..." Impmon growled, clawing his way back up to his feet. "We still got business."  
  
"I just realized." Chatsuramon said, looking at Khumbiramon. "I know why you were made a Deva, Khumbiramon."  
  
"Why?" the rat Deva asked.  
  
"For this. TREASURE MALLET!" Chatsuramon's body shifted into a giant mallet, and flattened Khumbiramon, container and all. Switching back, Chatsuramon glanced at Impmon. "Take his data!" Eagerly, Impmon did so. "Now, hold him! The Juggernaut must fire, after all."  
  
"Right." Impmon snarled. "DEVA CLONE!" he yelled, splitting into several copies of himself, and swarming Yamaki.  
  
Chatsuramon blinked. He had never seen a digimon actually use another digimon's powers after loading their data. They both bear further study, Chatsuramon mused.

Park

  
"Why are we running?" Calumon asked, gripped firmly in Rika's arms.  
  
"'Cause every digimon in a 500-meter radius around Baihumon's about to get deleted!" Rika answered. Already, she could feel an electric charge building around everything. A short distance away, Janyu waved to the other tamers, indicating that they had found the safe distance.  
  
Baihumon was baffled; then he felt a tearing sensation, as the data that made up his body was slowly pulled apart by the power of the Juggernaut system.  
  
"It's working!" Jeri yelled.  
  
"Yeah." Takato said, a little uneasily as he saw Baihumon get, quite literally, pulled apart, bit by bit.  
  
"Are you alright?" Nami asked Hitomi, who had bit her lip.  
  
"Back home, Baihumon was a bit of a hero." Hitomi answered quietly. The tamers watched as Baihumon disintegrated, agitated but not overly concerned.  
  
Janyu watched this, deep in thought, muttering something. "Dad?" Henry asked.  
  
"I was just going over how the Juggernaut works, and I-" He stopped as he caught Baihumon's face, the last part of him to vanish, seem to twist into an evil grin. "NO!" he yelled, deafening Henry for a second.  
  
As Baihumon's body vanished, the separated data seemed to coalesce into a bright red ball, which shot back towards the Hypnos Towers, and exploded over top of them.  
  
Hypnos  
  
Impmon dismissed the other clones of himself. When Chatsuramon had told him he actually wanted Juggernaut to be used, all the fight had left Yamaki.  
  
"It doesn't have to end like this." Chatsuramon rumbled. "A price for your...vendetta must be extracted. But I could...reunite you with your son. You miss him, don't you?"  
  
Slowly, Yamaki nodded. "Why not kill me now?" he asked.  
  
"Because, for all the trouble you have caused, the Sovereign is quite...fascinated by you humans and how you interact with those digimon you claim to have tamed. We were planning to use Ryo and Cyberdramon, but if we had you...well, we might be less inclined to hunt your son down."  
  
Slowly, Yamaki got up. "I agree." he said quietly. Nodding, Chatsuramon opened another rift, and motioned for Yamaki to go through. He did so, taking one last look around the lab.  
  
Outside  
  
Everyone gaped at the bright red...tear in the sky. 'Tear' was the only word that could describe it. Inside of it, it was red and had a grid pattern. Takato could just make out shapes moving alongside the edges of the tear.  
  
Dobermon stiffened. "It can't be!"  
  
"It is." Renamon replied. "We're seeing the Digital World!" As she spoke, a bolt of lightning shot out, slamming into one of the towers on the Hypnos building, shattering the top few levels.  
  
"Dad!" Alice gasped. A few more bolts shot out, and the tops of the towers were reduced to twisted metal and cracked concrete. Henry was about to say something to comfort Alice, when the howling started.  
  
"Trouble." Karatenmon said, tightening his grip on his swords.  
  
With a sharp howl, every airborne digimon Hitomi knew erupted out of the rift and swooped down, claws and beaks extended, on top of the tamers. There seemed to be no real strategy, just a frenzied claw and bite, until they heard Calumon start yelling.  
  
"Let me go!" the small white digimon yelled, gripped between two Flymon. Cawing loudly, Noctowl exploded out of Hitomi's pokeball, flew up, and smashed the two digimon with a pair of Steel Wings. A Confusion blast got a third incoming digimon, then the owl pokemon was overwhelmed, forced down by a Vilemon. Hitomi recalled Noctowl as Rika tried to get to where Calumon was.  
  
Renamon jumped over her, destroying any digimon between Rika and Calumon. Wordlessly, Rika slashed a card through her D-Arc, calling up Musyamon's katana. Renamon put it to deadly effect. (Told you they were good. -ed)  
  
"They must be after Calumon." Takato realized, getting a 'well DUH!' look from Henry. "Guilmon, help protect Calumon!" Roaring, Guilmon started launching fireballs into the air.  
  
"Go!" Alice said to Black Were Garurumon. "You have to help too!"  
  
"I'm not leaving you." the digimon snarled. "Besides, I'm not much good at fighting Aerial opponents." This point was proven as an Aquilamon flew down, catching Alice in its claws.  
  
"Big sister Alice!" Suzie yelled. D-Arc in hand, she turned to Houndour. "Please, do something!" Instantly, Suzie's D-Arc started glowing.  
  
"Houndour, digivolve to...HOUNDOOM!"  
  
Henry glanced at the newly evolved pokemon, at Suzie, at his father, and came to a decision. "Suzie! Use this!" he called, throwing a card to his sister. "Just like we do!"  
  
Suzie caught the card, looked at it, and nodded. "Digi-modify! Hyper-wing activate!" Instantly, six wings sprouted from Houndoom's back, enabling her to fly. "Hang on big sister!" Suzie called. "Houndour...uh...FETCH!"  
  
Repressing a comeback, Houndoom flew up, landing on Aquilamon's back, who was engaged with Karatenmon, and using Alice as a shield. Seeing no other way, the pokemon leaned over and sunk her fangs into the bird digimon's neck. She followed the bite with a Flamethrower attack, the flames going right into the injured neck. Cawing, Aquilamon released Alice. Karatenmon flew down and caught her, while Houndour leaped off the back of the giant bird, just in time to see Black Were Garurumon jump, grab onto a leg, and deliver a Shadow Crescent into Aquilamon's gut, destroying it.  
  
Karatenmon landed, placed Alice on the ground, and flew back. Suzie, for her part, flew into Alice's arms, sobbing. Houndoom strode over, satisfied. "Hey, I kinda helped up there." she said.  
  
Alice glanced at the pokemon. "Thank you." she whispered, glancing at Henry a second later. She was about to say something to him as well, when they heard Renamon and Rika both shout. Eyes wide, they saw a crimson red skeletal horror jump down, throwing both tamer and digimon to one side, and then pick up Calumon in one of its hands.  
  
"Skull Satamon!" Jeri gasped.  
  
"Treacherous vermin!" Grappleomon snarled. He dodged around the hand holding Calumon, and drove a single punch into the demonic digimon's head, shattering it and the digimon. However, a second Skull Satamon landed, trying to surprise the cyborg. It was sliced in two by Karatenmon's blades.  
  
"They always travel in packs!" the digital pokemon called.  
  
"Thanks!" Grappleomon answered, then looked up, gasping. "No, it can't be him!" Looking up, Karatenmon saw a giant firebird appear in the rift, almost ghostly in appearance, and drop a massive fireball on top of them.  
  
Eevee and Gabumon landed at the feet of their tamers, nearly unconscious. "Z...Zhuquiamon..." Gabumon moaned, passing out.  
  
"Look!" Takato said, pointing. Calumon, also knocked out, was enclosed inside a ruby-red sphere, and was rapidly whisked up towards the rift. Then, the rift imploded.  
  
1 hour later  
  
Rika sat up abruptly, throwing off the sheet someone had placed over her. "Calumon! Where's Calumon?"  
  
"They...got him." Henry answered. "Another of the Sovereign, Zhuquiamon, appeared and dropped a fireball on us. We never had a chance. And they levelled Hypnos too."  
  
"Renamon?" Rika asked, suddenly worried.  
  
"I am here, Rika." Renamon answered. "I'm sorry. I let Calumon get away."  
  
"It wasn't our fault." Takato interrupted. "But what do we do now?"  
  
Hitomi looked up, face dark. "I think...we have to go after him."  
  
Reilly stepped into the tent. "They have Mr. Yamaki too. I got a stream of the security cameras from the lab. I saw Impmon," everyone stiffened at his name, "and a giant dog appear, say something to him, and then led him through another portal."  
  
"Chatsuramon." Gabumon said grimly.  
  
"So, they have Yamaki, Calumon,-" Henry started to say.  
  
"And Ryo." Reilly added. "I was able to pick out his name." Helplessly, Reilly looked at the group. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do anymore."  
  
Hitomi looked up. "I think...I think we should go after them."  
  
======  
  
Next Episode: While the Monster Makers and the remaining Hypnos staff work to find a Digiport that can be used to save Yamaki, Calumon, and Ryo, the tamers prepare to leave for the digital world. Who will go, and who will stay behind? Find out, next time on Digicross Tamers episode 21:  
-Setting out!  
  
"No. I absolutely forbid it." "Papa...please...?"


	22. Digicross Tamers 22 'Setting out'

==Friday afternoon  
  
Site-2 was government code for the 'fallback' site for many of the operations that Hypnos had formerly handled. At its inception, Hypnos was meant to be a government monitoring station, watching for suspicious communications that might indicate terrorist threats or other such hazards of 20th century life. Later, when digimon had started to appear, Hypnos was converted to find ways to combat this new potential threat.  
  
Reilly reflected on that, marvelling that now it served as a means for a young girl to ask her parents for permission to go save the world.  
  
"No. I absolutely forbid it." Kyle Motomiya said to his daughter. There was no video; the lab back on Hitomi's homeworld had, according to Izzy, suffered a major accident, and was being repaired. No problem, he assured everyone, they had to rebuild and update about 90% of the equipment that had been lost anyway. For now, it was just an audio signal.  
  
"Papa...please...?" Hitomi begged. "The digimon here already took Calumon and Mr. Yamaki-"  
  
"The guy that kidnapped you?" Kyle asked, steel in his voice.  
  
"Yes." Hitomi answered.  
  
There was a scuffle on the other side of the line. "Hitomi?" June, her mother, asked. "Is there no other way? Can't you...bring him here?"  
  
"No. The original Hypnos building was destroyed in our last fight."  
  
More shifting. "Hitomi, if that digital world's anything like ours, then there's going to be at least three more Mega level digimon guarding the place, plus whatever forces they have there."  
  
"Dad? We don't have a choice." Hitomi said quietly.  
  
It sounded like Kyle was about to reply, but he stopped. "You didn't call to ask permission." he finally said.  
  
"No." Hitomi answered quietly.  
  
There was some sniffling from Kyle. "This isn't fair. You're growing up, and I'm not there to see it."  
  
"Papa..." Hitomi started to sob.  
  
Reilly rolled her eyes, then glanced at Talli, who shrugged helplessly.  
  
=====

Digicross Tamers episode 21  
'Setting out!'

=====  
  
==Saturday, Matsuki Bakery/Residence  
  
"Uhh...Mom? Dad? Can we talk?" Inside, Takato was shaking. Keeping Guilmon had been a necessity, in Takato's mind. His mother wasn't too keen on pets, forbidding even a goldfish to him. And a big, red, digital dinosaur... He really envied Henry right now; his dad already knew what was happening.  
  
"Takato?" his mom asked, stepping into the kitchen. "What..." she started to say, then stopped. Behind her son was a large red..."MONSTER!" she shouted, back-pedalling.  
  
"Yoshie, what is it?" Takehiro Matsuki called, running in. He stopped short when he saw Guilmon. "Umm...Takato...?"  
  
"Well, mom, dad, this is Guilmon. He's a digimon, and I kinda created him..."  
  
"Honey?" Mie asked weakly.  
  
"Aspirin's in the top shelf, left hand cupboard. Beside the antacids. Maybe bring those too, I think I'm about to need them."  
  
==Kato home  
  
Satoshi Kato fixed Gabumon with a steely glare. Gabumon, drawing on all his experiences facing down dangerous opponents, returned the stare, but without making it look too threatening. Looking up, Satoshi addressed his daughter. "And these digimon...Gabumon's one of them?"  
  
"Yes...I mean no...Gabumon's saved my life a bunch of times, he's not like the other digimon that are attacking the city!"  
  
"Be that as it may, I don't see why I should allow you to do this, Jeri. It's too dangerous for a little girl to go off into a war zone."  
  
"There's no one else that can do this!" Jeri protested. "You're always talking about my duties and responsibilities." she said, angry now. "He," pointing at Gabumon, "is my partner, and this," indicating her D-Arc, "won't work for anyone else." She stepped back, fearing her father might try to snatch it from her. "I didn't want to just leave. I thought you should know what's happening."  
  
Satoshi winced. Jeri had guessed his plan correctly. Okay, he thought, the stern father routine's not going to work, she's too old for that. Maybe reasonable parent..."Jeri, I just...you're 10 years old. And we're talking about fighting monsters in another dimension! What if something happens to you?"  
  
"Nothing will." Gabumon said, voice leaving no room for argument.  
  
Despite himself, Satoshi found himself believing the digimon. He could see the determination in Gabumon's eyes, and could tell that he could back up his promise if necessary. "You really didn't want to just run away?" he asked quietly.  
  
Jeri shook her head. Sniffling, Jeri ran forward, hugging her father.  
  
"Jeri...your mother, your real mother...she'd be proud of you."  
  
==Park  
  
"So." Janyu said, sitting on a park bench beside Henry. "You have to do this?"  
  
"Takato, Rika, and I have the most experience, dad. And Hitomi's actually been to a digital world before."  
  
"But not this one." Janyu countered.  
  
"Yeah, but that's still one more than anyone else here, except for our digimon. Well, not Guilmon, but you know what I mean."  
  
"Hypnos was wrecked, and I'm needed back here to help, Henry. I don't know if I can afford to go with you; we have to find out what's going on down there, and keep trying to find a way to get Hitomi back home, too. And you, if you go through with this."  
  
Henry glanced at Terriermon annoying Houndour, who responded with a small gout of flame. Which got Suzie upset and starting on one of her lectures about 'the proper way a lady should behave.' "I think I'm glad. If both of us went, Suzie would demand to go to. I don't think I could take that."  
  
"I don't think Terriermon could take that." Janyu added, making both of them laugh. Sighing, Janyu glanced at Kotemon. "And, as good as Kotemon is...Maybe it's best if some of us stay behind, in case there's another attack."  
  
"That's what I was thinking." Henry agreed. "You, Alice, even Suzie if necessary..." A pause, then "Have...should I tell mom now, or later?"  
  
"Now, I think. She knows something's up; Houndour's not exactly subtle. And it's better to have the screaming out of the way now, rather than later."  
  
Henry chuckled. "Yeah, torching the evening paper isn't exactly subtle."  
  
==Nonaka house  
  
Rika went over her belongings, wondering which one she should take with her. Cards, definitely. Spare clothing, sure. Swimsuit, yeah right, I hate that stupid thing anyway. Takato's going to bring food, if his parents don't pack him off to another continent, so that should be okay...  
  
"You won't need food." Renamon said. "Digimon don't normally eat, except when we're being sociable."  
  
"We're not digimon." Rika replied. "But thanks."  
  
"You should tell your grandmother." Renamon said, after watching Rika sort items for another minute. "Somehow, I doubt your mother would approve."  
  
Rika stopped packing, and said "I will" in a surprisingly quiet voice.  
  
Curious, Renamon moved closer to her partner. "Rika? What is wrong?"  
  
"Nothing." Rika replied angrily, praying that that wasn't really a tear that was crawling down the side of her face.  
  
Renamon nodded, understanding. She said nothing as Rika stood up and left the room, walking towards her grandmother's room.  
  
Quietly, Rika knocked on the door. "Grandma?"  
  
"Come in, Rika." Yuka said, smiling at her granddaughter. Instantly, she knew something was very, very wrong. "Is everything alright?"  
  
"No." Rika paused, then continued. "Look, you know about that big fight yesterday?" Yuka nodded, already knowing where this was going. "Well, they took Calumon. And that guy that grabbed Hitomi earlier."  
  
"And you're going to go get them." Yuka replied quietly.  
  
Rika nodded. "Me, Takato, Henry, Jeri, and Hitomi."  
  
"When are you leaving?"  
  
Rika, in a very calm voice replied "as soon as we find a digital portal. Hitomi can't use her D-Arc to create one on a computer, but Henry's dad and the others think they can create one to send us there and bring us back."  
  
Yuka smiled a bit. "You've thought this through. When you go there, what will you be doing?"  
  
Rika snorted. "Keeping everyone else alive."  
  
"Especially Hitomi?" Yuka asked, smiling again as she saw Rika blush a little. "I can see you two have grown close."  
  
"I just taught her a few things about the card game, that's all." Rika replied, turning away. Sensing that her grandmother wasn't convinced, she looked back, and added "why don't you just adopt her?"  
  
"I don't think her parents would approve." Yuka replied calmly, still smiling. Rika groaned, giving up. "Rika, didn't you once tell me you wanted a sister?"  
  
"Yeah, just before d..." Rika started to say, then stopped. "Yeah. Once."  
  
Yuka took one of Rika's hands in her own. "Rika, I'm sure everything will be fine. From what Renamon's told me, I know that you'll take care of everyone that's going."  
  
==Next day  
  
"Hello?" Kenta asked, opening the front door of his home. "W...Hitomi?" he gasped. "Uhh...HI!" he said, "ahh...what brings you by?"  
  
Hitomi's face reddened a bit at Kenta's antics. "I, no we need to talk. We were going to yesterday, but then the digimon attacked, remember?"  
  
"How could I forget?" Kenta replied. "So...park?"  
  
"That would be nice." Hitomi replied, wondering how she was going to handle this.  
  
==McCoy apartment  
  
Alice quietly picked up the dishes, and took them back to the sink. She was dressed a bit more conservatively, but it was still all black, and her silver cross was still in position. "And who decided to leave me out?" she asked Henry.  
  
"Alice," Henry said calmly, "look, we can't all go. Dad has to stay behind to get the portal ready for our trip back. And Suzie's just too young to go."  
  
"I've been at this longer than Jeri." Alice said, a bit too sharply. In the adjoining room, Dobermon looked up, but said nothing. "And if you so much as think about saying that you don't want me to get hurt..."  
  
"It's not that." Henry replied.  
  
"If Hitomi were here, she'd say you were lying."  
  
"Well she's not!" Henry retorted angrily. The two stared at each other, Henry's dark eyes meeting Alice's ice-blue ones. Finally, Henry broke off, and turned to leave.  
  
"Wait." Alice said suddenly. Henry stopped, but didn't face her. "Just promise that you won't get killed, alright?"  
  
"Sure." Henry replied, still not facing her. Somehow, Alice knew that the was smiling a bit. "I'll see you later."  
  
==  
  
Kenta had a sense of dread as he and Hitomi walked down the pathway. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked slowly. Hitomi looked around, and indicated a park bench that they could sit on. It was fairly early in the day, so there was little chance of being disturbed. It seemed almost too perfect, Kenta thought. Sunny day, birds are singing, she looks like she's got something really serious on her...  
  
Suddenly, it hit him. "Oh, I get it." he said, dejected. "I know I'm not that good looking or anything, but, well..."  
  
Hitomi almost fell over. "No, it's not like that!"  
  
"Hitomi." Kenta sighed. "Look, I'm sorry if I've been creeping you out or anything. It's just that I think you're really special, and...well..."  
  
"Kenta...there's someone.." Hitomi trailed off.  
  
Oddly, Kenta felt a bit better. "Figures." he sighed. Noting Hitomi's confusion, and misreading it completely, he went on. "Well, someone as smart and pretty as you must have like a zillion boyfriends back home. I understand." He made to get up, but Hitomi stopped him.  
  
"Kenta, please. If I'd known, I'd have told you sooner, really."  
  
Kenta smiled a bit. "I believe you." he said. Maybe, he thought, having your heart stomped on isn't so bad.  
  
"You'd like him." Hitomi said. "His name's Hiroki. Hiroki Hida."  
  
Hida and Motomiya? Kenta wondered. "Sure. And you've got a cousin named Kamiya, right?" he asked jokingly.  
  
"Two sisters, unofficially." Hitomi corrected.  
  
Kenta started blinking as he parsed this. "Umm...Is there something you're not telling me?"  
  
Hitomi nodded. "My parents are Kyle and June Motomiya. And my uncle is Davis Motomiya."  
  
==Matsuki bakery  
  
The sign read 'closed due to illness' on the door, resulting in a lot of unhappy shoppers. Still, Takehiro and Yoshie had bigger things on their mind than the day's profits. "We can't let him go." Yoshie declared. "He's still a child, he's my baby!"  
  
"He's our son." Takehiro replied calmly. "Why couldn't it have been magazines? I know how to deal with magazines. Or cigarettes? But no, he had to go and create a digimon and get involved with a war."  
  
"I guess parenting is still full of surprises." Yoshie admitted weakly. "Somehow, I don't think we'll be able to take Guilmon away."  
  
"Not if what he says about creating him is true. Or about how he's already helped save this city several times."  
  
"This isn't the same, Takehiro! He's going to go off with a group of children and fight even more powerful monsters! And he won't even be at home!"  
  
"He won't be alone, Yoshie." Takehiro tried to console his wife.  
  
"No, he'll be with a whole group of kids, a regular field trip!" Yoshie retorted. "He's just a baby! We can't let him do this!"  
  
Takehiro held his wife tightly. "We don't have a choice. And he's not a baby."  
  
"He's my baby! And he always will be?"  
  
"Oh? Tell him that Jeri Kato's around sometime, and see how he reacts."  
  
==  
  
Five minutes later, Takato was called in. "Takato." his father started. "Well, we can tell you're determined to go, so we won't stop you."  
  
"D..Dad?" Takato gasped.  
  
"It's like you said earlier." his mother sniffed. "You're the only ones that can save the world." Finally, she lost control, knelt down, and bear- hugged Takato. "AhHHH! My little baby's going to leave and never come back!"  
  
"Mom, don't be silly." Takato replied. "Of course I'm coming back. We all will, promise."  
  
Takehiro sighed. "Alright then. But you'd better not pull any funny business just because Jeri Kato's going too."  
  
Takato's face went bright red. "DAD!" It had the desired effect of getting Yoshie to laugh, so Takehiro decided that it was worth it.  
  
==  
  
Takeru Motomiya watched as Izzy, Ken, and Yolei all tinkered with various parts of the communicator. "So...anything I can do?" he asked.  
  
Izzy looked up. "Thanks, no. You see, we have to try to repair the system so that we can send a signal from our world to the alternate earth that Hitomi is on. The problem is that we don't have a digital world to send the signal through, and we had to do some very minute adjustments to make sure that he signal was calibrated correctly. We've got audio back, but pictures are a bit harder to handle. Still, another few minutes and we should be able to do something."  
  
"Cool. I wanted to show off Veemon's new evolution, and my spiffy new digivice to Hitomi." He twirled the small black and white sphere around.  
  
"That must have been some adventure." Ken said. "Sounds a bit like the time I met Ryo when I was about your age." He smiled, remembering better times.  
  
Takeru suddenly thought of something (yes, it's possible. -ed). "Hey, Uncle Izzy? Why not build this thing in the Digital World here? Couldn't you use that to send the signal?"  
  
Izzy sighed. "It's not that simple. You see..." Izzy trailed off, lost in thought. Then, he looked right at Takeru. "Takeru...THAT'S BRILLIANT!" Ken and Yolei both looked confused. "Instead of trying to force the system to remodulate the communication beam so we-"  
  
"Izzy!" Yolei ordered. "English!"  
  
"Right." Izzy replied, calming down. "Instead of trying to adapt the communication link to go straight from one world to another, we can use the dimensional instability of the digital world here. If I'm right-"  
  
"It'll be much easier to make a link, and probably easier to make a portal connection!" Ken said, excited. Looking at Takeru, he added "Takeru, you're getting that bike you wanted."  
  
Yolei groaned. Takeru had expensive tastes. It was then that the communicator switched on.  
  
==Site-2  
  
Kenta looked around. "So, you're a secret agent?"  
  
Hitomi smiled. "No. It's my way of talking to everyone at home."  
  
"Hello?" a voice called over the speaker. Kenta blinked. That voice sounded familiar.  
  
"Hi, aunt Yolei. Is mom or dad around?"  
  
The screen by the speaker flickered, and the person Hitomi was speaking to came into view. "Oh, good, it's working. Izzy? Can you get Kyle and June? It's Hitomi again."  
  
Kenta stepped back, stunned. "Yu...yuhh..."  
  
Yolei looked at Kenta. "I don't know, Hitomi. I mean, Hiroki's going to be crushed." Hitomi blushed.  
  
"It's not like that! This is Kenta."  
  
"You're Yolei!" Kenta finally managed to say.  
  
Yolei sighed as Kyle and June came into view. "I can see we're going to need some autograph tables when we get you back."  
  
Half an hour later, Hitomi led Kenta out of Site-2. 'Floating' didn't begin to describe Kenta's state of mind. "Kenta?"  
  
"Wow...Hitomi, I never knew...the digidestined are real. Wait'll I...no, I can't tell anyone, can I?" Hitomi shook her head. "I guess not. Kazu would flip though. Who else knows?"  
  
"The other tamers." Hitomi replied. "And now you, too."  
  
"Thanks." Kenta said quietly. "So, Hiroki's your boyfriend, then?"  
  
"Yes." Hitomi admitted, blushing a bit. "You'd like him. He's a bit like you."  
  
==  
  
Dolphin and Babel watched the two leave. "So, Dolphin...Alice and Henry made it official yet?"  
  
"Funny." Dolphin replied. "If I tried anything like that, Alice'd fry me." he glanced at a readout. "I got something!"  
  
Reilly ran over. "It's a portal. I'll get the others."  
  
==Nami's apartment.  
  
"Thanks." Nami said quietly. "I'll tell her." She hung up the phone. Hitomi had returned about an hour earlier, and was getting ready for dinner.  
  
"Who was it?" Hitomi asked, stepping out of the living room.  
  
"It was the lab." Nami replied. "They found a portal you can use. I guess you'll be leaving soon."  
  
"Do you want me to stay?" Hitomi asked, voice quiet and serious all at once.  
  
Almost furious, Nami shook her head. "No! You have to do this, and...and I don't have the right to stop you..." she sobbed.  
  
"I mean it." Hitomi said, tears starting to fall. "If you want me to...I'll stay here with you." She looked up into Nami's face. "I meant what I said before. If I do have to stay here, I want to stay with you."  
  
"Us too." Eevee said, padding over from the small bed he was pretending to sleep in. Noctowl, resting on the windowsill, cooed lightly, indicating he agreed.  
  
Nami held Hitomi for a few more minutes, both of them crying, then stood up. "No." she finally said. "Takato and Jeri are going...they need someone responsible to take care of them."  
  
"That's Rika's job." Hitomi responded, ignoring an offended 'ahem' from Eevee.  
  
Monday morning  
  
The portal that the Monster Makers had found turned out to be in a place that Takato knew very well. It was the construction area where he had first found Guilmon. "Boy, who knew, huh?" The place where Guilmon had appeared was covered by a small tent, with several armed guards standing around it.  
  
"So all this is your fault, gogglehead?" Rika asked. "Figures."  
  
The last battle had forced the school to close for several days; a stray energy blast had levelled the teacher's lounge. Normally, Kazu would have been celebrating, but...  
  
"YOU'RE GOING TO THE DIGITAL WORLD?" Kazu half-shouted, making Takato flinch. "Oh, sure, you get a digimon, cool evolutions, and now you get to traipse off to the digital world. And you're not letting me?"  
  
"Well, duh." Rika answered, already annoyed. "You don't have a digimon, you've never been in a battle, you've got no useful skills that I can even SEE. Give me one reason we should let you tag along."  
  
"Uhh...Kenta and I can carry stuff!"  
  
"No, Kazu." Kenta said. "Trust me, we're out of our league."  
  
Kazu tried not to look too stunned. Kenta NEVER said no to him. "Hey, our partners might be in there!"  
  
"There are thousands of digimon where we are going." Renamon replied coldly. "The chances of you finding one who would want to be teamed with you are exceedingly slim."  
  
"Kazu, drop it." Henry sighed. Where were Jeri and Hitomi? "We don't know what we'll be getting into down there." And why was Takato's pack so large? "For all we know, it'll be a war zone."  
  
"Besides." Janyu added. "I prepared for this. Kazu, I think you remember your father." Kazu was about to say something as a large hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Good day, sir. Your son was just seeing us off."  
  
"Good. I've been telling the boy he should work on his manners a bit." Kazu's father said.  
  
"Sorry we're late!" Jeri called from across the park. She and Hitomi, followed by Gabumon and Eevee, were running as fast as they could manage. Following at a more sedate pace were Ms. Asaji and both of Jeri's parents.  
  
Takato started to call out to Jeri, then stopped. "Jeri?"  
  
Jeri ran over, smiling. She had switched clothes, swapping her usual skirt for a pair of jeans, a light beige T-shirt, and a sweater. "Hitomi said that dresses don't do so well in the digital world. Especially when there are boys around." Takato blushed, getting a laugh out of everyone else.  
  
"Takato?" Hitomi asked. "What's in your backpack?"  
  
Takehiro spoke up. "Oh, we just made some extra food for Takato and you while you were gone."  
  
Hitomi frowned slightly. "Maybe we should split it up then. I think this pack's about to break."  
  
"Good plan." Henry said. "If we lose one pack, we won't loose everything. And God forbid we should have a hungry Guilmon."  
  
Rumiko Nonaka looked around, still not clear on what was going on. "Rika, do you really have to go? I mean, wouldn't the army be better suited for this?"  
  
Rika sighed. "No, mother. We're the only ones that can do it."  
  
"Well, OK." Rumiko agreed sadly. "But you'd better be careful out there!"  
  
"I will take care of her." Renamon said. Rumiko 'eep'-ed in response. Rika felt a headache coming on.  
  
"Watch yourself, Henry. Don't do anything foolish."  
  
Henry nodded. "Get Calumon, get Yamaki, find Ryo if we can, and get out. As long as you get the return trip worked out."  
  
"Losing Hypnos set us back, but we can manage. Mr. Kamiya had some ideas he wanted to send to us."  
  
Kazu, listening in, looked baffled. "Mr. Kamiya?" he asked.  
  
"Not who you're thinking of." Kenta said. And he was telling the truth, after a fact.  
  
"Jeri." her father said, still glancing at Gabumon. "Come back to us."  
  
Her step mother smiled, holding Jeri's baby brother in her arms. "He's going to miss you."  
  
"I'll miss you both too. And Gabumon won't let anything happen to me. From anyone." Takato coughed, trying to pretend he hadn't heard that. Satoshi gave his daughter one last hug, and stepped away.  
  
"Goodbye." Hitomi said to Ms. Asaji. Both looked ready to cry. Smoothly, Jeri walked over and prevented Rika from making any gagging motions. They hugged each other, then separated, Hitomi walking over to join the other tamers.  
  
"So long." Kenta said, waving. Hitomi smiled and waved back.  
  
"Through here." Dolphin said, opening the tent up. "It showed up just after Hypnos was wrecked. We think it's a weak area between the dimensions. If you can get in anywhere, this should be the place." Everyone stepped in.  
  
"Alice?" Takato gasped. Alice was standing just inside the tent. "Umm...you're going with us?"  
  
"No." Alice replied. "Like you all said, someone has to stay here and make sure you have a home to come back to." Looking at Henry, she added. "Just make sure you come back." Henry nodded, face reddening a bit. A small smile on her lips, Alice left the tent. Wisely, Terriermon said nothing.  
  
"So, now what?" Takato asked, looking at Hitomi.  
  
"Well, it worked at home." she replied, holding her D-Arc up. "Digiport OPEN!" Hitomi's D-Arc glowed, and the portal seemed to ripple slightly.  
  
Janyu glanced at a readout. "It's still not stable enough to go through."  
  
Jeri held up her D-Arc, as did the other tamers. "Digiport OPEN!" they all called. Gradually, a shimmering area started to become visible, eventually solidifying into a purple and black rough circle.  
  
"Always wanted to say that." Jeri said, giggling a bit.  
  
"It's stable." Janyu said. "You'd better get going!" Nodding, everyone stepped in, vanishing as soon as they entered the portal. "We're getting telemetry...they're OK, and on their way."  
  
==Next Episode On their way to the digital world, the Tamers meet Ice Devimon, who wants to make Rika his tamer. And even if the Tamers do manage to survive, they still have the entire Digital World to search, filled with potential enemies. To find out what happens, watch for Digicross Tamers episode 22:  
'Obsessed digimon Ice Devimon'  
  
PS: No, I haven't forgotten Kazu and Kenta. Yes, they will get digimon. Just let me write the story, and I'll get to them. I'm looking at you, Ninetales :-p


	23. Obsessed digimon Ice Devimon'

==Digital World  
  
"Come back here!" Zero hollered, chasing after the small metallic digimon. "No one steals MY lunch!" (No, digimon don't have to eat. They just like to, alright? They can stop any time, really... -ed).  
  
"Hey, you were going to throw it out!" Metal Koromon shouted back. "You'd finished!"  
  
"Rrrr...I stopped to GET A DRINK OF WATER!"  
  
Ryo Akiyama shook his head. "It's like living in a cartoon." he sighed. He glanced at Cyberdramon, sleeping lightly. The ultimate-level digimon suddenly looked up. "Beam." he growled.  
  
"Zero! Data Stream coming this way!" Ryo shouted. "Get over here!" As he yelled, Ryo could see the beam, shooting from the Earth, hanging in the sky, and tracing a path along the ground. "Zero!"  
  
"Come on, you silver football!" Zero growled, finally catching up with Metal Koromon. "Now...ulp." Zero grabbed Metal Koromon, looked up, and saw the giant beam come racing at him. "RYOOOOO!" Zero yelled as the beam swept him up.  
  
Ryo watched as the beam went on its way. "Looks like it's just you and me now." he sighed.  
  
== Digicross Tamers Episode 22  
'Obsessed digimon Ice Devimon!' ==  
  
"Where's the tunnel?" Takato asked. "Aren't we supposed to be flying down a big grey tunnel?"  
  
Hitomi looked around. Back home, she had gone to the digital world countless times. Each time, it felt like she was flying through a tunnel of light. It certainly didn't involve walking down a dark corridor with floating green symbols. "It is different." She finally said.  
  
"It was how digimon came to the real world." Renamon answered. "Although the trip there was much quicker. I think there is something pushing us back, slowing us down."  
  
"Another digimon?" Jeri asked. "Maybe a Deva?"  
  
"I don't think so." Gabumon replied, looking around. "It feels like we're swimming upstream."  
  
"I guess." Henry sighed. "It must be easier for digimon to come to the real world than for people from the real world to go to the digital world. Or maybe you're all just slowing down so we can keep up." he remarked, glancing at Terriermon.  
  
"Are you challenging me to a race?" Terriermon replied. "Come on, I'll beat you all there!"  
  
"We should stick together." Jeri spoke up, feeling a bit nervous.  
  
"You alright?" Takato asked. Jeri nodded. "Yeah, I still can't believe it. We're actually going to the digital world. I couldn't sleep at all last night."  
  
"Please." Rika groaned. Beside her, Renamon sighed quietly, then stopped. "Renamon?"  
  
Renamon looked down the corridor, then, eyes wide, yelled "DOWN!", knocking Rika to the floor. Hastily, everyone hit the ground, just as a blue bolt of energy shot overhead. "A transport beam." she explained a few seconds later. "More digimon must be going to the real world."  
  
Jeri looked back, worried. "It's alright." Gabumon reassured her. "Mr. Wong and Alice are there, if there's any trouble."  
  
"And Suzie." Terriermon added. Flinching under Henry's glare, he added "what? She'd probably give any Devas that showed up the princess treatment, and send them running in terror."  
  
"Terriermon." Henry growled.  
  
"Henry, please! Your sister loves with fury!" Terriermon replied, waving his arms (This one's from the Tamers manga. Too good to pass up. -ed) "Well, at least she's got Houndour to work on now. Hey, Hitomi? I hope pokemon are as durable as Digimon." Hitomi smiled but said nothing.  
  
Rika noticed Renamon looking a bit preoccupied. "What is it?"  
  
"I was just remembering the last time I came through here." Renamon replied. "It seems like years ago."  
  
"Close to only one." Rika agreed. "I remember all those digimon were hanging there, waiting for me to pick one of them."  
  
"Some of the digimon knew that a powerful tamer was about to be chosen, and they all wanted to be the one picked. But there were more digimon there than you knew, Rika..."  
  
==Then  
  
"No, I will be the one!" Aquilamon snarled, flapping his wings at the digimon trying to force him away. "The Tamer shall be MINE!"  
  
"I disagree!" Musyamon retorted, batting a Snimon away with the flat edge of his sword. "It shall be me!"  
  
"Fight all you want." A sibilant voice said. "But it shall be me." There was a wave of cold, and Musyamon was frozen in a block of ice.  
  
"Ice Devimon? Bah, you want a trophy, not a Tamer!" Aquilamon glared at Ice Devimon, staying near the dull rectangle.  
  
"What I want is none of your concern, you puffed up pigeon. Now one side. Let a digimon of true power enter the world."  
  
"She has not chosen yet." Renamon said quietly, not bothering with the petty squabbling.  
  
"Begone, Rookie! This is no place for a child like you." Aquilamon stormed, advancing on her. He was stopped short when his wings were pierced by several ice spears.  
  
"A rookie." Ice Devimon noted. "But not a normal one, no. I can see it in you, a burning passion to fight. Ah, to freeze such a noble spirit and have it for my own...amusement." Renamon's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. "I can feel that girl who is about to choose one of us. I can feel her icy heart, calling out to me. But if you wish, I can freeze you and bring you with me."  
  
"I've seen Yukimibotamon that are more threatening." Renamon replied quietly. Grinning fiercely, Ice Devimon launched himself at Renamon, claws stretched out. "I'm waiting." Renamon added, as she dodged one claw swipe, then another. Ice Devimon launched a wave of cold, which Renamon jumped over. "Diamond Storm!"  
  
Ice Devimon ducked the attack. "Cute. But you missed."  
  
"You were not the target." Renamon replied, as the attack shattered the ice prison holding Musyamon. With a howl, Musyamon jumped on Ice Devimon sword stabbing down repeatedly, skittering off of Ice Devimon's frozen hide. Running behind the two, Renamon gave Ice Devimon a mighty kick, and sent the two back down the long black corridor.  
  
"Well played." Ice Devimon said quietly as he tried to get the enraged Musyamon off of him. "But I can wait, Renamon. And I will."  
  
==Now  
  
"So, they all wanted to be my digimon that badly." Rika said thoughtfully. "Well, I can't blame them."  
  
"Several digimon had heard that there was a skilled tamer ready to choose a digimon. Many felt, and still feel, that humans are the key to discovering why everyone lost the ability to digivolve." Renamon glanced down the black corridor. She shivered, and stopped.  
  
"Did it get cold in here?" Jeri asked, looking around. "Hey, I can see my breath!"  
  
Renamon's eyes narrowed. "He survived."  
  
"I did." Ice Devimon said, appearing in front of Renamon. She jumped back, startled. "As I said, a masterful play, Renamon, showing your worth as a fighter. But you've had your fun. Rika with me and I shall give you the world on a frozen platter." Rika stepped back, not sure how to reply. "Renamon might have been fun, but only I can put you on the pedestal you deserve."  
  
That got Rika's anger up. "HEY! I'm not some piece of eye candy! I don't need some oversized snowman, 'cause I already have a partner. And she's a lot stronger than you'll ever be."  
  
"Wow. I've never seen Rika this mad before." Takato said. "I hope she doesn't fight Ice Devimon herself."  
  
"Yeah. Ice Devimon'd lose in a second." Terriermon replied, flinching as Henry rapped him on the head.  
  
She glanced at the other tamers. "This is our fight, if you don't mind?" Everyone nodded. She glowered at Ice Devimon, taking a card out of her belt-pack. "Renamon...walk all over him."  
  
"With pleasure." Renamon answered.  
  
"Many digimon have come through this path, Renamon. I am much stronger than you, my dear, for I have fed on many of them."  
  
"Pity you did not try the Devas, Ice Devimon."  
  
"He couldn't" Rika spoke up. "He's just a coward under all that goth-ice garbage."  
  
"Oh, you are so wrong about me." Ice Devimon answered, feigning hurt. One of his claws grazed Renamon's leg, forcing her to roll away. "Come, let me show you the depths of my icy heart."  
  
==Real World  
  
Janyu stared at the screen. "I don't like it."  
  
"Me, neither." Babel said. "But I never liked Dolphin's stuff."  
  
"Oh, har-de-har-har." Dolphin replied. "You have any better ideas for getting everyone back? We do have a bit of a time limit here." He waved at the pile of notes in front of him. "We use this re-creation of the old portable devices as a template for a transport system to get everyone home. Simple."  
  
"But we'd need weeks just to re-write it to our needs. We don't know what kind of conditions are down there in the Digital World. And what if another digimon finds it before the kids do?" Janyu slumped down.  
  
At that moment the screen came to life. "Guys? I have an idea for getting everyone home." Izzy said.  
  
==Interdimensional  
  
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon yelled, launching a flurry of daggers at Ice Devimon.  
  
The devil digimon ignored the attack, even though it did do some damage. "No Musyamon to save you this time, my dear. I shall defeat you, freeze them, and take Rika back to the Human world and rule it."  
  
"Why Rika?" Renamon demanded.  
  
"We are alike." Ice Devimon answered, savouring Rika's angry expression. "More alike than a mere child like you could ever be."  
  
"You couldn't be more wrong." Rika snarled. "Renamon!" With a roar, Renamon leaped into action, raining blows down on Ice Devimon, all with little effect. "Digi-Modify! Omega Blade activate!"  
  
A huge white sword appeared in Renamon's hands, and she swung it downwards, bisecting Ice Devimon. "But...I'm a Champion..."  
  
"No. You're a loser." Renamon answered. "And you're nothing like Rika." She ignored the data that was escaping from Ice Devimon, walking back to Rika's side. The sword in her hands vanished.  
  
"Imperialdramon Paladin Mode's Omega Sword?" Takato asked. "A little overkill, maybe?"  
  
"He needed it." Renamon replied. "And he was annoying Rika."  
  
"And I don't like being annoyed." Rika added, glancing at Takato. Jeri giggled a bit at the sight.  
  
"Hitomi?" Eevee asked.  
  
"Just a little homesick. All we need is for Takeru to be here so Rika can hit him."  
  
"Not a complete trip until someone clobbers him." Eevee agreed.  
  
==Pokemon World  
  
"Ah-CHOO!" Takeru doubled over, wheezing. As he tried to right himself, a pencil eraser bounced off his head.  
  
"If you're quite done, Mr. Motomiya?" Professor Davies said, glaring at the boy.  
  
"Sorry, teacher. I guess someone was talking about me." Takeru answered.  
  
(It should be noted that Mr. Davies was later removed from his teaching post after accidentally catching a student in the eye with a flying eraser. Remember teachers, don't throw stuff at students! They may have rich parents that can sue you for lots of money! -ed)  
  
==Tokyo  
  
"Fascinating." Dolphin murmured, looking at the computer readout. "And this is an actual pokemon?"  
  
"Yes." Izzy replied from his improvised lab in the Digital World. "Porygon started off as a computer simulation of a pokemon, but then developed its own intelligence and the ability to evolve. I think we can adapt one to use as a means to get everyone home. It's more than capable of surviving in hostile environments. And in a computer-derived environment like the Digital World, it should thrive.  
  
"Alright, upload Porygon, and we'll get started on the modifications!" Janyu said, excited. "Can you keep in touch?"  
  
"Easily. Now that the portal is set up in our digital world, we can get signals across much faster than ever before."  
  
==Interdimensional.  
  
Takato blinked, and all the darkness and ASCII symbols were gone. It was all...blue?  
  
"Just stay focussed." Renamon said. "And whatever you do, don't look down." Jeri instinctively glanced down, and shrieked. "Oh dear." Renamon sighed. Everyone wondered what Jeri had seen, looked down, and, metaphysically speaking, assigned 'down' a physical direction.  
  
(Kids, NEVER assign 'down' a direction if you can help it. -ed)  
  
"We're going to DIE!" Jeri shrieked.  
  
"We're NOT!" Gabumon yelled. "Trust me, it works differently here!" Everyone felt a huge jolt as they passed through what the humans assumed was a cloud.  
  
Eevee shouted. Looking over, Rika saw that Hitomi had been pulled away from the group. "Hitomi!" Rika shouted.  
  
"Get away!" Gabumon yelled. "There's a beam coming your way!" Hitomi looked over her shoulder, and saw a bright orange column of energy headed towards her. Quickly, she pulled out Eevee's pokeball. However, she passed through a second cloud, and the pokeball was torn out of her hand. She had time to look at Eevee, then the beam swallowed her up and sped away.  
  
==Elsewhere in the digital world  
  
Chatsuramon glanced around. The portal had -not- opened where he had expected it to. In his mouth was a cage holding Calumon. Impmon looked around, unimpressed. "This place is even more of a dump than I remember it."  
  
"It will be cleansed, Impmon." Chatsuramon replied. "Our sovereign lies this way. Where is the human?"  
  
"Still unconscious." Impmon indicated Yamaki's body, lying on the ground.  
  
Sighing, Chatsuramon knelt. "Place him on my back, Impmon. I have strength enough to carry this thing to our master."  
  
"I suggest you let them go, dog." A large digimon commanded, stepping into view. It looked a bit like a horse, but walked upright, and it held a giant conch shell, the opening aimed at Chatsuramon.  
  
"Ah, Indramon." Chatsuramon said. "The last holdout. Have you come to join us?"  
  
"No, merely to save Calumon and the human. I don't know who you are, but you should leave." Indramon addressed Impmon. "He is a deceiver, and you lack the power to be of use in this fight."  
  
Impmon's eyebrow twitched. "You ahhh...you want to repeat that? I don't think I heard you right."  
  
"You did. This Deva is beyond your power."  
  
"That's what I thought you said." Impmon growled. "Hey, get the creampuff and the psycho to your boss. I want a piece of horseface here." Indramon looked somewhat less than impressed. "Now then...DEVA CLONE!"  
  
Indramon stepped back, astonished. "That...that's Khumbiramon's power!"  
  
"And here's one I learned from a Pteramon! SIX WAY SIDEWINDER!" All six Impmons suddenly fired missiles, all striking Indramon.  
  
This is impossible, Indramon thought. He's barely a rookie, but I...FELT that. "What are you?" Indramon demanded.  
  
"I'm going to be the strongest digimon EVER!" Impmon proclaimed. "Infernal Fireball...SUMMON!" A pentagram appeared under Indramon, and the Horse Deva was wrapped in flame. "Think on that while you bake, pal. Maybe I'll come back when you're interesting to fight." Impmon strode off.  
  
Impressive, Chatsuramon noted. "Impmon...you would make an excellent Deva. Maybe you could even be accepted as one of the Sovereign. We have an opening, as you know..."  
  
==  
  
Jeri sat up, Gabumon lending her a hand. "I'm...alive?"  
  
"Yes." Gabumon answered. "Long falls don't normally destroy a digimon. At least, not here. Come on." He led Jeri out of an impressive-looking crater over to the others. Rika, Henry, Takato, their digimon...  
  
"No sign of Hitomi?"  
  
Henry grimaced. "We just found this." he replied, holding up Eevee's pokeball.  
  
Takato had Eevee in his arms. "She's not..."  
  
"No." Renamon answered. "That was a transit beam. It merely took her somewhere else.:"  
  
"Yeah." Terriermon added. "Who knows where, though? I got caught by one once, and I wound up two levels down and a week's travel away. Uhh...I'm not helping, am I?"  
  
"No, you're not." Henry sighed.  
  
"Hi...Hitomi?" Eevee murmured, recovering. "HITOMI!" he suddenly shouted, jumping out of Takato's arms. "Where is she?" he demanded.  
  
"We don't know." Jeri answered, a bit unwisely.  
  
Eevee looked at each of the tamers, then frowned. "Out of my way. I'll find her."  
  
"You can't go off on your own!" Takato said. "We don't even know which way she is! And what about Calumon?"  
  
"Hitomi's all I care about." Eevee answered coldly.  
  
"Calm down." Renamon said, advancing on Eevee. "I'm sure she's alright."  
  
"Without me? Yeah, right. I-" Eevee was suddenly wrapped in red light, and was pulled into his pokeball. Rika put the ball in her pocket, frowning.  
  
"He'll be even worse when he comes out." Henry advised her.  
  
"Then I'd better find her quick." Rika replied, glancing at Renamon. Before Henry could protest, she continued. "Look, Renamon's a lot more familiar with the digital world, and she can move a lot faster than anyone else. We find her, and meet up with you."  
  
"Where?" Takato asked.  
  
"Wait a second." Jeri said, taking out her D-3. She closed her eyes, looking as if she was praying. The D-3 lit up, and the small compass ring appeared on the screen, the arrow pointing at Rika. "I thought it'd work. Just think of one of us, and the D-Arc should show you the way."  
  
Rika groaned. This was getting too close to a sappy dramatic manga. "Alright. I saw which way the beam was headed, so I know where to start looking. Ready Renamon?" Renamon nodded, eyes fixed on a location in the distance. "Digi-modify! digivolution activate!"  
  
"Renamon, digivolve to...Kyuubimon!" With a shout, Rika jumped on Kyuubimon's back, and the two sped away, kicking up a trail of dust.  
  
"Good luck." Jeri said quietly. "I hope they find her."  
  
"Relax." Henry said. "Hitomi still has Noctowl with her. And she's smart enough to avoid trouble."  
  
"So, where do we start looking?" Takato asked.  
  
"Hey, Yamaki has a digivice, right?" Terriermon said. "Maybe we could find him with ours?"  
  
"Maybe." Henry replied. "Hmph. Who'd have thought we'd be looking for Yamaki."  
  
"Hey, Ryo's down here too, isn't he?" Takato asked. Gabumon nodded. "Maybe we can find him too!"  
  
==  
  
Ryo ran over to the crater. It hadn't been too long since Zero and Metal Koromon had vanished, and he hoped that they had found a way back to him. "No offence, Cyberdramon. But you're not the best company."  
  
"Rrrr..." Cyberdramon replied.  
  
Smirking, Ryo made it to the edge of the crater. "They must have flown up somehow, but I've never heard of a transport beam..." Ryo got a good look at the person in the crater. "A girl?" he breathed, stunned.  
  
In the crater, Hitomi stirred, knocked out by the fall.  
  
==Real World  
  
"I'm getting something." Babel said, glancing at the screen. "It looks like the portal is opening up again. I think something...no, two somethings are coming through!"  
  
Janyu glanced at Kotemon, who nodded. "Ready."  
  
The portal flared into life, and spat out two creatures, one small and blue, the other a silver oblong with ears. "Umm...hi?" Zero said uncertainly, waving.  
  
Next Episode: Hitomi wakes up to find herself separated from Eevee and the other tamers. However, she meets this world's Ryo Akiyama, and tells him about their quest. And on the real world, Zero and Metal Koromon manage to sneak out of Hypnos and come across their partners. Watch the merry chase! Next time, on Digicross Tamers:  
'I'm a legend? Kazu Zero DOES NOT equal 100%' 


	24. I'm a legend? Kazu plus Zero DOES NOT e...

Alice, Kazu, Kenta, their parents, and the assembled Monster Maker stared at the two arrivals. "Metal Koromon and Veemon." Alice said, glancing at her D-Arc. "They're harmless."

"Hey, who're you calling harmless?" Metal Koromon complained.

Dobermon stepped forward. "You, especially if you decide to make any trouble."

"Ahh...nice doggy?" Zero said, raising his hands. Dobermon arched an eyebrow, unamused. "There was a Data Stream, you see, and Ryo was too far away-"

"RYO?" Reilly suddenly gasped. "You saw him?"

"Yeah. Nice guy, shame his partners such a psycho. You must be his aunt Reilly. He'd be thrilled to know you're still alright." Reilly stepped back, overcome.

Talli knelt down in front of Metal Koromon. "Metal Koromon, right? I'm Talli. Umm, can we run a few tests on you?"

"AHHH!" Metal Koromon shrieked, deafening everyone. "It's some crazy X-Files stuff! They're going to eat our brains!" Metal Koromon dashed off.

"No they're not...HEY, WAIT UP!" Zero called, running after him.

**Digicross Tamers episode 23**

**'I'm a legend? Kazu plus Zero DOES NOT equal 100'**

_Metal Agumon created by Metal Dragon1 (so blame him :D)

* * *

_

_Digital World_

Rika, riding on Kyuubimon's back, looked over the wide plain. "Anything?"

"Not yet." Kyuubimon said. "I don't know where she might have been dropped off. For all we know, she could be back in Tokyo."

Eevee, perched on Kyuubimon's head, frowned. "No. It's this way, I'm sure of it." His muscles tensed.

Rika fingered the pokeball in her right hand. "If you go off on your own, then we'd have to find both you and Hitomi. And you don't know your way here." Eevee glowered at Rika, but didn't reply.

In Rika's left hand was her D-arc. Where are you, Rika wondered. The digivice lit up, an arrow pointing in the direction Eevee had indicated. "One word and it's back in the ball, rodent." Rika sighed, just as Eevee opened his mouth.

"Told you." Eevee whispered after a few seconds.

* * *

_Elsewhere in the digital world_

Hitomi sat up, blinking. "A cave?"

"You're awake!" a boy said. "I was a little worried. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Hitomi looked at the speaker. A little older than her, she guessed, and he looked familiar somehow. "I'm fine...Eevee! Where's Eevee?"

"Eevee?"

"My partner!" Hitomi started to hyperventilate a little.

The boy put a hand on her shoulder. "It was just you when I found you. I think you were caught in a data stream. Don't worry, you'll be able to find him. Hey, relax." he added. "My name's Ryo Akiyama. I've been here for a few years." I thought he looked familiar, Hitomi thought to herself. "Umm...this was on your belt." Ryo added, handing her a pokeball.

Hitomi looked at it. She relaxed a bit, pressing the button on the front. Noctowl appeared, looking around. "Woah." Ryo breathed. "Is that Eevee?"

"No. This is Noctowl, my friend. Say hello." Noctowl hooted at Ryo.

"Pleased to meet you, Noctowl. Strange, he doesn't look like any digimon I've ever seen. Maybe an alternate evolution of Owlmon?"

"It's complicated." Hitomi replied, not feeling like explaining that Noctowl wasn't a digimon to begin with. "Umm...have you seen my D-arc and Digimon cards?"

"Oh, here." Ryo said. "I put your backpack by the bed, it looked a little uncomfortable to lie on. Um, I didn't look inside, don't worry." Ryo added, blushing a bit. "You came prepared."

"Well, we came looking for someone." Hitomi answered.

"We?" Ryo asked, intrigued.

* * *

_Tokyo_

"That football sure can move." Janyu sighed. "I wish that Veemon had stayed put. We could have learned a bit more about Ryo. Not to mention what's going on down there."

"We'll find him." Kotemon replied. "But do I have to ride in a baby carriage?"

"Well, it worked for Biyomon and Palmon." Janyu replied, feeling completely idiotic. It had been Dolphin's idea, first for Alice, who flatly refused to have any part of it. Janyu and Kotemon were nominated, despite their protests. "If it makes you feel any better, I feel just as silly."

"Well, that's alright then." Kotemon sighed.

"Our parents are going to KILL us!" Kenta hissed.

"Forget it!" Kazu replied. "We know this town pretty well, and we volunteered to help find those two missing digimon, right? So if we do, we'll be forgiven."

"That makes no sense whatsoever!" Kenta replied.

"So? Just tell them I hit you or something." Kazu shrugged. "Okay, if I were a digimon, where would I go?"

"Food?" Kenta suggested. "Guilmon was a bread vacuum."

"That's the spirit!" Kazu replied. "And dibs on Veemon!"

"HEY! I called him first!"

"Dude, an uber-cool digimon like Veemon just begs to be with an ultra-hip guy like me. You can have the metal football."

"But I don't even like football..."

* * *

_Digital world_

"My...dad...?" Ryo said quietly.

Hitomi nodded. "We know he was taken here by two of the Devas, and a digimon named Impmon."

"He's...alive...MY DAD'S ALIVE! Oh, thank you!" Ryo shouted, running over to Hitomi and kissing her on the cheek. He stepped back a second later, horrified. "Oh, god...I'm sorry, really!"

Stunned, Hitomi could only answer "It's alright, really..."

A large black digimon stormed in. He glared at Hitomi, snarling. "Cyberdramon!" Ryo barked. "Back off!" Before anything else could happen, Noctowl shot forward, cawing a challenge at Cyberdramon. Cyberdramon was about to strike the owl, when a bright blue beam of light shot past Noctowl, wrapping around Cyberdramon. "Down!" Ryo ordered. Cyberdramon backed off. "This is Hitomi," he indicated the girl, "and that's her partner. They're friends, got it?" Cyberdramon tensed. "GOT it?" he repeated. The digimon backed off, the beam dissipating and allowing Cyberdramon to leave the cave.

Ryo looked at Hitomi, face downcast. "I'm really sorry about that. Cyberdramon's hard to control. He's been like that since he digivolved two years ago. It took me about five months to get him to stop fighting ever digimon that comes by. And he's still easily set off, as you just saw."

"How...?" Hitomi tried to ask.

"I think something went wrong when he digivolved. It's like all he can think about is fighting and growing stronger. I can't leave him alone, or he'd just go nuts. And if I brought him back to the Real World..."

Hitomi nodded. "Well, maybe we can find a way to help him, then. The people at Hypnos might know how to calm him down, or make him de-evolve."

"Hypnos?" Ryo asked.

"Your father was involved with it. They've done a lot of work on digimon." Hitomi said carefully. She decided that 'yes, the government organization that kidnapped me at your dad's orders and tried to dissect Eevee' might be a bit much for Ryo. "We learned that you were here, and they were trying to find a way to get you back when your father was captured."

Ryo sat down. "You'd better tell me everything."

* * *

_Real World_

Kazu led Kenta down a side-road. "I think they're heading to the school!"

"Great. The one place we DON't want to go back to."

"Hey, it's for a digimon!" Kazu replied. "And no-one knows that place better than the two of us, right?" Kenta nodded slowly. "Right. And if I were a digimon, the first place I'd go is the cafeteria, right?"

"How'd you figure that out?" Kenta wondered.

"Hey, digimon are, like, food pits. It's in over half of the episodes. And look at Guilmon."

"I suppose."

After a few minutes, the two made it to the school. "See? Lock's busted open. And if I'm not mistaken, that's definitely a Veemon-shaped dent on the lock, right?"

"No justice in here, just us." Kenta murmured.

Kazu blinked, caught the reference, and high-fived Kenta. "That's the spirit! Come on!"

Veemon looked around. "Hey, you in here? Hello? Metal Koromon? Yo, football!"

"In here!" a slightly metallic voice called. Veemon looked inside. Metal Koromon was at a small white metal box, with the door open. He could hear a faint whirring coming from the box. "It's cold in here! And there's food!"

"You're hungry?"

Metal Koromon glanced at Zero. "You know, I wasn't when I got to the worked, but it's the oddest thing...hey, try this red thing!"

"That's an apple. Hey, where's all this fog coming from?"

"Must be from the box." Metal Koromon replied. "You got a name?"

"Zero. Ryo called me Zero for some reason."

"Umm...are you seeing all this ground fog?" Kenta asked, worried.

"Hey, they must be near!" Kazu replied. "This must be one of those digital fields Takato told us about!"

"But...that Veemon and Metal Koromon already emerged, so they shouldn't be creating one, right?"

Kazu glanced out a nearby window. "Ahh...no, but THAT MINOTARUMON MIGHT!" he half-shrieked, pointing.

* * *

_Digital World_

"So aunt Reilly's alright too...Any more good news, and I might have to marry you." Hitomi blushed, getting a laugh out of Ryo. "Sorry. I haven't seen another human in about two years. I'm a bit used to saying what comes to mind. So who else is here, aside from you? Are they also tamers?"

"Yes. Takato and his partner Guilmon, Jeri and Gabumon-"

Ryo blinked. "Hey, I saw a Gabumon not too long ago."

"I think it was him. Anyway, there was also Henry and Terriermon, and Rika and Renamon."

"Rika? About your height, red hair, really good at the card game?" Hitomi nodded. "Wow. I met her once at a Digimon Card tournament, just before I came here."

"Were you..." Hitomi trailed off, blushing again.

Ryo grinned. "Sorry, you're not off the hook yet." Another, deeper blush. Noctowl arched one of his large eyebrows. "Rika was...is, I guess...kind of hard to forget." Hitomi nodded in agreement. "So, the Devas captured my dad?"

"The ones that are left." Hitomi answered

"Left? Wait...there have been fewer sightings of the Devas. No, they went to Earth?"

"Yes. But we managed to defeat them."

Ryo sat back, stunned. "You guys really are good. Well, then. Why don't you rest up? We've got as long trip tomorrow."

Hitomi glanced out the cave mouth. "Tomorrow? But it's still the middle of the day."

"Really? Just give it a minute." The two humans looked out. A second later, the light vanished, as if someone had flipped a switch. "Quick nightfall. It's better if we travel by day. Oh, before you ask, you don't have to worry about eating. You don't get hungry down here. Come to think of it, you can't drown either."

"Really?" Hitomi asked, wide eyed.

"Stick with me, and I'll show you a whole new world." Noctowl hopped over and tapped pointedly on Hitomi's pokegear.

* * *

_Real World_. 

"Okay, there's two digimon with our names on them in here, and a Minotarumon out there." Kazu whispered, glancing out the window again.

"Fine, you go see if he wants to be your partner." Kenta replied.

"I...HEY!" Kazu gave Kenta a bonk on the head, then started crawling. "We'll be OK as long as he doesn't come here. He's only interested in fighting other digimon."

"Kazu. There are. Two digimon. IN HERE WITH US!"

Kazu stopped, looked at Kenta, and groaned. "Aw nuts." he said as the building shook. "Come on!"

"Hey, he's after our food!" Metal Koromon growled, racing out, having caught sight of Minotarumon.

"Hey, WAIT UP!" Zero yelled, running after him. "I'm too old for this..."

Kotemon sat up. "Digimon!" he growled. "Big one, I think."

Janyu glanced in the direction Kotemon indicated. "The school's that way! We'd better hurry." He started running, deciding to ditch the buggy. "I think secrecy's out now!"

Minotarumon snarled, looking at his opponents. "I come here looking for a battle, and I get...two CHILDREN? A Veemon and a Metal Koromon? Should I fight you or change your diapers?"

"Yeah, well...Nose rings went out last year!" Zero replied.

"Yeah!" Metal Koromon added, sending a small shower of sparks out.

"Is that supposed to do something?" Minotarumon taunted. "Dark Side Quake!" he roared, punching with his weapon-arm. The two smaller digimon dodged. "Demon Arm!"

"Now what?" Metal Koromon yelled, rolling to a stop after the last assault.

"You're asking me?" Zero demanded. "YOU'RE the one who challenged him!"

"Hey, it was for food!"

Zero shook his head. "Well, if it's a fight he wants...V-Headbutt!" Zero shot forward, and managed to make a nice dent on Minotarumon's weapon-arm, but that was about it.

"Worm!" Minotarumon roared, raising his foot up, intent on squashing Zero flat.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size!" Kazu shouted, hurling a rock at Minotarumon, ignoring Kenta's 'yeah, like a semi-truck!'. "Over here, quickly!"

Zero and Metal Koromon started to run, but were sent flying into the two humans by Minotariumon's earthquake attack.

Kazu was knocked over and dazed by one of the digimon. Sitting up, he saw that it was the Veemon he had spotted earlier. "Umm...hi, I'm Zero the Veemon." Zero hazarded.

"Z...Zero...Veemon?" Kazu gasped. Cackling, he passed out.

"Oh, COME ON!" Kenta yelled at the prone Kazu. "Hey, can you...?"

"Sure! And you don't have to ask twice!" Metal Koromon said proudly. "Charge!"

"No, wait!" Kenta said, starting to run after the silvery digimon. He got two steps, then stopped as a white orb of light appeared in front of him. Reaching forward, it solidified, becoming a D-Arc. "Oh wow! Does this mean that...My partner is Metal Koromon?"

"Don't look at me." Zero replied, poking Kazu. "He have an on switch?"

"Sometimes I wonder." Kenta growled, bending over. "Come on, I know I have...YES!" Kenta said as he dug out a small battered belt-pouch. Since learning that digimon were real, both he and Kazu had always carried a deck of Digimon Cards with them, 'just in case'. "Okay, no, no, not this one...alright!"

Getting up, he saw Metal Koromon get flung away by Minotarumon's Demon Arm attack. "Here goes...Digi-Modify! Digivolution, Activate!"

"Whu...whaaa...WAHOOO!" Metal Koromon yelled. "Metal Koromon, digivolve to...Metal Agumon!" Kenta stepped back as Metal Koromon turned into...well, a silvery Agumon. Kenta's D-Arc bleeped, displaying an image.

"Metal Agumon. Vaccine Type, Rookie digimon, special attacks...Lightning Spike..."

"Okay!" Metal Agumon said. The small digimon jumped up, spat out a small ball of electricity, and sent it flying at Minotarumon. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Come on, ugly! Is that your nose or a door knocker? Hey, can I do anything else?"

He's nuts, Kenta thought. "Umm...Static Bite?" he hazarded, glancing at the D-Arc.

"Okay! STATIC BITE!" Metal Agumon jumped again, landing near Minotarumon and sinking his teeth into the larger digimon's leg. Minotarumon looked down, unimpressed.

"We're close!" Kotemon said.

"Alright. And no-one's around so...Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!" This time, Janyu made a point of not imitating his son's card slashing style.

"Uhh..." Kazu got up...."Where...?"

"Oh, you're up." Zero said. "I think we should go help them, right?"

"Huh?"

"You know, the Minotarumon?"

Kazu blinked again. "Huh?"

"Attacking the school?"

"...huh?"

"Kenta's a tamer now." Zero sighed.

"WHAT?" Kazu yelled, getting up. "How'd he get a partner...uhh...a silver Agumon? Hey, does this mean that...?" Kazu glanced at Zero, and started checking his pockets. "Come on, where is it?"

"What?" Zero asked.

"My digivice." Kazu answered. "One must have appeared. Hey, do you-" Kazu asked, reaching down to see if Zero had one. As he bent over, a small orb of light appeared, a D-Arc in the center.

"Ahh...ahhh...A-HAHAHA! YES!" Kazu shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Zero's my PARTNER!" Unnoticed, Minotarumon started stomping towards him, Metal Agumon still clamped on his leg.

"STOP CHEERING AND DIGIVOLVE HIM, THEN!" Kenta shouted.

"Huh?" Kazu glanced at Kenta, saw Minotarumon, and nearly panicked. Wait, he realized. I've got a Veemon. Named Zero. And I'm easily TWICE as cool as Taichi Yagami from V-Tamer. I can take this creep. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

"Veemon, digivolve to...Veedramon!"

Kazu took one look at Veedramon, cackled, and passed out. "Could you be any MORE useless?" Kenta groaned.

Veedramon glanced at Kazu, still puzzled. "No problem, I think that-"

No one ever knew what Veedramon thought, as Minotarumon was neatly bisected by Dinohumon's Magnum Blade. A few seconds later, Janyu came running in. "Kazu? Kenta! What..." Janyu saw Metal Agumon and Veedramon standing there, and both children with D-Arcs.

"Umm...hi?" Veedramon said, waving.

* * *

_Digital World_

Rika leaned against the charred husk of a tree. The darkness had come so quickly, that they were forced to stop. Eevee slept fitfully, still worried about his partner.

Rika glanced out over the plain, unable to see very far. "We will find her." Renamon said.

"Of course we will." Rika answered, glancing at Eevee. "I'm surprised he stopped. I'd have thought he'd have run until he dropped. Or I stuffed him back in the ball."

"He is concerned about Hitomi. As are you." Rika looked away. "You should rest now. I will wake you when it is your turn to watch."

In a corner of the cave, Cyberdramon rested fitfully, while Noctowl slept by Hitomi.

"Two years without human contact, and now this. I'll find you, dad. And we can both get out of here." Ryo glanced at Hitomi, sound asleep.

"...Hiroki..." Hitomi murmured.

Ryo sighed. "Ah, nuts." he grumbled, then went to sleep.

* * *

Next Episode

Captured by Chatsuramon and Impmon, Yamaki is taken to the True Sovereign, and learns why the Devas have started attacking the Real World. Next time, on Digicross Tamers:

'The Dreaming Prisoner'


	25. The Dreaming Prisoner!

This, Yamaki thought to himself, is why I like sunglasses so much. He flinched as the bright light stabbed into his eyes. He could feel it trying to dig into his mind.

He couldn't recall much after his confusing, tumbling, fall between dimensions. Impmon and Chatsuramon had fared better, and had quickly secured him. The rest of a journey was a jumble, Impmon's occasional insults the only thing he remembered. There was a castle, a cell (causing him to wonder if these digimon had been watching movies on the Internet illegally, and briefly consider suing this 'sovereign' for copyright infringement), and now...this. No words or even someone to focus on. Just an area of bright light.

"Well?" Impmon asked. "He getting vaped, or what?"

Chatsuramon grumbled. "The True Sovereign is trying to scan his mind, to see what this maggot knows."

"He was trying to wreck this place, what else is there?"

Chatsuramon snarled as Yamaki struggled again. "Much, Impmon. There is much to learn from him..."

Digicross Tamers Episode 24

'The Dreaming Prisoner!'

**Real World**

"Can we GO yet?" Kazu asked.

"I don't know." Talli asked, a bit acidly. "You make partners out of any more digimon? We do have a slight PROBLEM with monsters running loose all over Tokyo."

"One sec!" Metal Agumon yelled. He had spent the last few hours rooting through a pile of old clothing, insisting that he 'blend in' with the humans in the city. "Okay, how's this?"

Everyone there, other digimon included, just stared. Metal Agumon was wearing a baseball cap, turned backwards, a sports jersey with '00' in large letters, and had somehow managed to find and tie a bandanna around his neck. "Well?"

"We'll talk." Kenta sighed. "But the bandanna goes. Now."

"Aw, come on! Show some guts, kid, ya gotta make a statement, right?"

"'I am insane' is not a statement."

**Digital World**

"So, who's Hiroki?" Ryo asked.

"Eh?" Hitomi gasped, looking away, praying she wasn't blushing.

"You were talking about him in your sleep. So, he your boyfriend?" Ryo ignored the low growl from Cyberdramon. Noctowl seemed content to ignore the byplay.

"Ryooo..."

"I should have known." Ryo sighed dramatically. "First girl I see in two years, and she's already taken." Hitomi mumbled something. "Ah, I'm sorry. It's just...Like I said before, I haven't talked to another human in two years. You start forgetting things. Ahh...sorry." Hitomi nodded. "But let me just say, on behalf of all male digidestined everywhere...darn."

Help, Hitomi thought to herself. The teen aged dimensional counterpart of my godfather is HITTING on me.

**Elsewhere in the Digital World**

Eevee sniffed the ground. "Majiramon." he growled.

Rika and Renamon looked over the ruined city. "What happened?" Rika whispered. "Renamon? Renamon?" Rika's partner didn't acknowledge her. Then, she leaped, covering the distance between them and the city in seconds. "Wait!" Rika called, running after her.

Rika and Eevee eventually caught up with Renamon, who was kneeling in front of a building. There was only one wall left standing, and that was balancing precariously. Inside were small pieces of...eggshells?

Renamon spoke up. "This is Seiryu City. And here is the dojo where I trained."

**And, the obligatory dungeon scene**

When Yamaki came to, he was back in his cell. "You think they'd be a little more original." he mused.

"Well, what do you expect for a world based on computers? Long on intelligence, but a little short of creativity."

Yamaki looked around. "Who's there?"

"I'm in the next cell. I saw them drag you in a few minutes ago. I take it the Sovereign is as pleasant as ever?"

"I wouldn't know. This is my first interrogation. And you are?"

"I...I don't remember, really. I know I'm a prisoner here, but, aside from the occasional mind probes and dips in boiling oil, I've been treated well enough. I think...Shibumi? Does that mean anything?"

Yamaki's eyes widened. "You're the one who created all this."

"Oh, so it's all my fault, is it?"

"You don't remember any of it? The artificial intelligence project? The Monster Makers? Dolphin? Babel? Tao? How about McCoy or Wong?"

"Hmm...yeah, that does ring a bell. Have I been here long?"

"I've spent the last two years looking for you."

**Southern Castle, Zhuquiamon's lair**

The gate to Zhuquiamon's castle slammed open, and the giant bird Sovereign flew in, and landed on his throne. "I have the catalyst. Now I can save and purify the digital world. First will be that so-called fake sovereign. Then those humans that dare to try and control us. And then...eh?"

Zhuquiamon glanced at the cage he had put Calumon in. Which was empty. And had the bottom hanging off.

The Southern Castle shook with Zhuquiamon's roar of anger. His soldiers waited for a few minutes, then hastened to respond to their lord's call. They were loyal, but not stupid, after all.

**Somewhere in the Digital World**

Calumon, meanwhile, was wandering all over the place. "This is sure a big place. Yeah, It does look familiar. But you've never been here before?"

Two Goblimon watched the small white digimon run around. "He talkin' to himself?" one asked.

"I once knew this Psychemon who slammed back some of Jijimon's rotgut. He was talking to himself for a week."

"I don't know, he looks...young to be drinking that slop."

"Slop? Hey, that stuff can't be had for love nor money! It's the uber-drink!"

Calumon, happily chatting away with the Unown in his head, failed to notice the two Goblimon start punching each other.

**Dungeon Scene, II**

"That's all I know about the Monster Makers." Yamaki sighed. "Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Yeah, more now. Thanks. I know that my real name's Goro Mizuno. And I remember the university project, but not much else. So...we created all this?"

"Yes. And it took my son from me."

"Oh." Awkward silence.

"Although I hear he's alive here in this world somewhere."

"Can't help you. Sorry."

"Forget it. I can find him and kill you once we get out of here."

Shibumi hmph'd at that. "Well, as long as one of us has a plan. Beats what I normally do."

"And that is?"

"Dream. When I'm not being tortured, I dream of the real world. And bits of what you told me. I had...Did I have a son?"

Yamaki thought for a second. "Not that I ever found out."

"A shame. I think...I think I might have been better, if I did."

**Real World**

"This is nice." Metal Agumon said, looking around the(partially ruined) city. "I could learn to like it here."

"Umm...shouldn't we be back at Hypnos or something?" Kenta asked, still uneasy. He fingered his D-scanner, trying not to flinch at every sound that might herald a new digimon attacker.

"Nahh, I was cracking up in that place. Let Zero and...what's his face?"

"Kazu?"

"Yeah, Kazu. Let them stay behind." Metal Agumon omitted the fact that Reilly, in concert with Kazu's parents, had clamped down fairly hard on him and Zero (who had no problem with staying out of trouble. His father decided Zero could be a good influence on his son. If Kazu'd stop cackling and fainting every time his name came up.). "I wanna go find food!"

"It'll be hard," Kenta replied, "seeing as a lot of digimon have trashed most of the city."

"You give up too easy. Hey, over there! I smell baking!" Metal Agumon was off, running down the street.

"Wait!" Kenta cried, running after the digimon. As you might have expected, both failed to notice the swirls of fog coming out of the alleyway they just passed.

**Dungeon III…But not for much longer**

"Ah, they're here." Shibumi said suddenly.

"Huh? Who?" Yamaki looked around, then gasped as several white floating...catfish?...appeared around him.

"Digi-gnomes." Shibumi explained. "It must be time for my monthly escape."

"Monthly?" Yamaki wondered if, as Spider Robinson had once put it, Shibumi had ceased to be _usefully_ nuts, and was just nuts.

"Oh yes. We escape, I wander around, then the Devas show up and drag me back. It's fun. Should be interesting, if the number of Devas has gone down."

"But...where...?" Yamaki stammered, as his body dematerialized.

**Ruins of Seiryu City**

Renamon slowly walked out of the ruins of the city to where Rika was waiting. "My sensei, Were Garurumon, was there. He would not leave the city for any reason." Rika nodded. "There have been no new digi-eggs for some time." she added, getting a gasp from Rika. Eevee didn't react. "He is gone."

"But...how-"

"There is no Primary Village, like in Hitomi's world." Renamon explained. "Digieggs appear virtually anywhere there is not a city. But, some time ago, about the time that digimon lost the ability to digivolve, no new digi-eggs were found.

"As far as I know, I was one of the last digimon born. We all assumed that some great menace threatened the digital world, so everyone began fighting, trying to increase their own strength. I came here and trained. You know the rest."

Rika was almost speechless. "R-Renamon..."

Renamon managed a smile. "It is alright Rika. Seiryu city was my home. Now, you are my home. Where you go, I will follow, no matter what happens." She glanced at the horizon. "We should find Hitomi. Eevee?"

"Not a word." the pokemon promised.

**Digital Plain**

Ryo ran up the hill, drawn by the shriek. Somehow, he knew what Hitomi had found.

Hitomi was standing at the top of the hill, looking over a wide plain. She was trembling slightly, one hand pointed out over the plain, the other under her chin. "Th...those are..."

"Yeah." Ryo said quietly. "I should have warned you. Those are digieggs. Or what's left of them." The plain was covered with millions of fragments, all dull and blackened. "One day, I saw new digieggs appear, and then, just...break, like there was nothing in them."

"I knew there was trouble, but...Is this the Sovereign's doing?"

"I don't know." Ryo admitted. "Come on. Hey." Ryo put his arms around Hitomi. "Easy, it's all right."

"No, it's not." Hitomi replied, shaken. "All those digimon are...dead."

"Yeah." Ryo said after a second. "Come on, let's get away from here. Let's find your friends, alright?" He was a bit puzzled. It was a bit disturbing, but Hitomi seemed too shaken by the sight. He sighed, added 'sensitive' to his perception of Hitomi (Which already included 'cute', 'smart', and, regrettably, 'taken'), and led her away.

**Real World**

When digimon had first appeared, Kenta had promised himself that he wouldn't scream and run around like an extra in a Gojira movie. He'd be calm, maybe not brave, but he would try to keep a clear head.

So, as Allomon's fireball impacted in front of a snarling Metal Agumon, Kenta screamed and ran for cover.

"Ahh...YEAH, YOU GET TO COVER!" Metal Agumon shouted. "I'll handle this creep! Lightning Spike!" (Animation note: Metal Agumon spits a ball of electricity up, jumps up after it and spikes it down at Allomon, volleyball style.) "Yeah! You want some more?"

"Stop trash talking the giant dinosaur!" Kenta groaned.

"Hey, trash talking's an essential part of any fight! But if you wanna make with the cards now, I'd APPRECIATE it!"

"Uhh...right!" Kenta answered, taking a card out. "Digi-modify! Dark Shot activate!"

"Kiss your butt goodbye! Dark Shot!" The missile streaked off of Metal Agumon's back, and slammed into Allomon. It was forced back, but not beaten. "We ROCK!"

"We're gonna be gravel!" Kenta answered. "Look out!" Allomon's head snapped forward, striking Metal Agumon.

**Digital World**

Yamaki stopped questioning his sanity. Every time he thought he had this place figured out, it changed on him. He had reappeared in what looked like a giant library. "Where are we?"

"You kn how the Internet is the Information Superhighway?" Shibumi asked wryly. "Well, here's the main exchange. All the information in the world is here." He waved his arms at the near-infinite stacks of books. "It used to be one of the Sovereigns' castles. Ebonwumon, I think. Big two headed turtle. No one's seen him in a while. Them. Whatever."

"Wait. What do you mean 'one of the sovereign'? There's more than one?"

"Used to be four. Then they all...vanished. Zhuquiamon's off in the south, apparently paranoid of all things human, Baihumon's vanished-"

"He was handled." Yamaki interrupted.

"Ah. Anyway, Azulongmon's only shown up a few times, and no one's even seen Ebonwumon since this all started. Where are all the Devas, anyway? They'd know."

"The Devas attacked our world and were destroyed."

"Shame. A lot of them went bad, but a couple of them were still good. I wonder if Indramon's around?"

Yamaki did some arithmetic. "He hasn't shown up. I think he might be the last one." (Note: If he's not, please let me know. I've lost track! -ed). "Strange. They claim to hate humans, but base their appearance on human mythology. But then, that's what a lot of this place was based on."

"I suppose. Yeah. I blame our humanities professor."

"Professor Emil Carlington, Masters in ancient mythology." Yamaki thought for a second. "You got a B-."

"Thank you, agent Smith." Shibumi sighed. At Yamaki's glance, he indicated a small room. "Caught a video of it in there."

"Movie piracy. Great." Yamaki moaned, ignoring Shibumi's laughter.

**Real World**

Metal Agumon got up, having just recovered from a rather nasty tumble into a large dumpster. "Huh...nice dent." he managed, still staggering a bit. "How we doing?"

"LOUSY!" Kenta wailed, being chased by Allomon.

"Ahh, we've had worse. Hey, DINO-BUTT! That your nose or a disease?" Allomon stopped, growling at the smaller digimon. "Yeah, YOU! With the earring! Feathers went out last year, by the way!" Metal Agumon winked for effect. Allomon howled, and charged. Metal Agumon dodged one claw swipe, then ducked under the legs of the larger dinosaur. "Slow-poke!"

Allomon's response was, for him, innovative. He sat down, crushing Metal Agumon, and drawing not a few cries of horror (and a few colourful metaphors to boot). The basic grossness of the attack got to Kenta, despite his panic.

"Little HELP here!" Metal Agumon yelled.

"Ah..ahhh...WHAT DO I DO?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?"

Think, Kenta, just think...Gasping, Kenta had an idea. He took a card out, prayed that he wouldn't mess this up like Takato had, and slashed it. "Digi-Modify! Ultra Digivolution activate!"

"YEAH! Metal Agumon, digivolve to...MECHA AGUMON!" The new form was larger, easily twice as large as Metal Agumon had been (And Metal Agumon was fairly large, just shy of Guilmon's height, Kenta realized.) Gunmetal grey hide, faint whirring noises as joints flexed.

Allomon stepped back, startled. "But...Digimon aren't supposed to be able to digivolve..." he protested.

"Heh. Shows what you know, pal. Now...ME GRIMLOCK KICK BUTT!" Mecha Agumon roared, jumping on Allomon. (Kenta, too young to have seen the glory that is Transformers G1, missed the reference. And no, he doesn't transform. But Mecha Agumon fighter mode does sound cool. Maybe an armor evolution...And getting Hitomi's digiegg would make his day. -ed). The spindly forearms clasped together, electricity gathering. "Ball Lighting!" he called, hurling (Well, more like stuffing) a large sphere of energy into Allomon's spine. The digimon vanished, falling apart into thousands of small bits. "Shame he wasn't farther away. I can drill that Ball Lighting like Canseco at the Series."

"?"

Mecha Agumon nodded. "Yeah. I kinda snagged some stuff while I was chilling with the adults. Man, those guys need to lighten up. Come on, I'm hungry."

"Buhh..."

"Hey, it's me! And you need to get away from that dufus Kazu."

"He's-"

"Yeah, yeah. You gotta stop letting people tell you what to do all the time. Except me, of course." Mecha Agumon took his partner by the arm, pitched him on his back, and tromped down the street.

And that's how a very confused Kenta nearly wound up on the evening news, and nearly got assassinated by The Monster Makers. Mecha Agumon?

He discovered bread.

**Digital World**

"Okay, what's going on here?" Yamaki demanded.

"Well, I'm reading this book, you're pacing around-"

"No. Why all this? Why did the Devas attack us?"

Shibumi shrugged. "This world is dying." Yamaki stopped. "There haven't been any new digimon born for two years or so. Also, parts of this world are, well, going wrong. And digimon are starting to act unusually.

"It's like a computer hard drive. Once it reaches a certain age, it breaks down. The early symptoms can include data loss and system errors. I know that the old Sovereigns tried to do something about it, but I guess it didn't work. There was something about a catalyst..."

"Calumon." Yamaki said. "Whoever's in charge now was interested in it. Him."

"Hmm. Well, Mister Yamaki, I believe you, if what you've told me about Hypnos is true, will get your wish. This world will die, and take all the digimon with it. I suppose the True Sovereign has some plan about moving to our world and taking it over. Or taking it with him."

"And us." Yamaki retorted. And my son, he didn't say. "And all you can do is sit there and read?"

"Nothing better to do. Besides, someone usually shows up to take me back after a while. I don't know why they don't take stronger measures to try and capture me. It's almost like they're treating me with kid gloves. I'd be flattered, if I knew why."

"Listen." Yamaki said, voice intense. "We can't stay here."

"Why not. It's not like we have anywhere to go."

"Yes we do! My SON is out there!" Shibumi sat up, startled. "Now either help me or get out of my way."

The door opened at that moment. A giant...bipedal horse, to Yamaki's eyes, strode in, massive conch shell strapped to its back. He looked badly injured. "I have news." Indramon said.

Next Episode:

Takato, Henry, and Jeri find come across some familiar faces.

Rika and Renamon find someone...but not who they were expecting

Cyberdramon faces...The Behemoth?

Digicross Tamers Episode 25

Takato Yojimbo!


	26. Takato Yojimbo

"Cyberdramon, STOP!" Ryo shouted. His 'partner', the ever-violent Cyberdramon, did not reply. Furious, Ryo's arm snapped out, bright blue energy tendril shooting out around Cyberdramon's body. It coiled around him, tightened,...and snapped. 

It had started about five minutes ago; Ryo had led Hitomi to the Chuchidarumon village where he had first landed. It was slightly off the course that Hitomi had indicated, but Ryo had contended that going straight would have required that they pass over several very tall and (the last time he looked) populated with very nasty digimon. So, he had managed to convince her that a slight detour was necessary.

Ryo hadn't minded one bit. He knew that Hitomi had feelings for someone else. But...well, who knew? After the other impossible things he had come across...

Anyway...

Once they had made it to the village, they had found that something had torn out large pieces of the village, demolishing houses all over the place. The remaining villagers had talked about a legendary digimon known as the Behemoth, which had gotten Cyberdramon all fired up. That digimon had run out of the hut, screamed a challenge, and then got tackled by a giant motorcycle.

Then, incredibly, it had gotten weird. Cyberdramon had managed to jump on the bike, tried to ride it like a human would ride a normal motorcycle, then seemed to lose control to the bike, which seemed to be firmly in the driver's seat, as it were.

"Now what?" Hitomi shrugged helplessly, then gasped as Cyberdramon's bike turned and sped right at them.

**Digicross Tamers Episode 25 'Takato Yojimbo!'**

**Elsewhere.  
**  
"So, where are we?" Takato asked.

Terriermon made a face. "Probably going the wrong way."

"Well, considering the last place that 'you were sure Calumon would be hiding in' was a nest of crazy Tankmon..." Takato sighed. "There's nothing wrong with admitting you're lost, you know."

"Takato, that's so enlightened!" Jeri teased.

Henry bit back his initial reply, settling for "well, as long as Gabumon knows something."

"Yes." the named digimon answered. "This direction will take us to Zhuquiamon's castle."

"Are we sure we want to go there?" Takato asked, suddenly nervous.

"Well, Zhuquiamon was the one who took Calumon." Jeri answered. "It makes sense to start looking there. And maybe someone along the way saw him."

"Start?" Terriermon asked. "Whaddaya think we've been doing so far? You've got my ears, Gabumon's eyes and rotten sense of direction-"

"Terriermon." Henry sighed.

"-And Takato's wanted poster." Takato held out a rough sketch of Calumon. Curious, Jeri took a closer look.

"Hmm. Well, you're no Hitomi." Jeri finally said. "But it's sweet you're trying so hard." So saying, she walked ahead.

Takato blinked. "Don't bother asking." Henry said. "I don't understand girls either."

Gabumon stopped. "I've made a mistake."

"HAH! I knew it, you-OW!"

Henry massaged the back of his hand, taking a second to glare at Terriermon. "What's wrong. We're not going in the right direction?"

"We are, but we're going to be going through a particularly repulsive part of the digital world."

Takato blinked again "Swamp?"

"Takato's closet?" Guilmon asked.

"I ain't touching THAT one." Terriermon muttered, still rubbing the back of his head.

"Worse. Geckomon village."

**Back to the first Elsewhere.**

Hitomi clumsily rolled to the side, just avoiding being run over by the possessed Cyberdramon. Noctowl, hovering protectively over her, cawed a challenge at the biker, but was ignored.

"That thing's gonna eat us!" Ryo snarled. "Cyberdramon, GET OFF!" With a shout, Ryo hurled his blue energy leash out again, wrapping the end around Cyberdramon's throat. He started to pull, but was quickly pulled off his feet.

"Ryo!" Hitomi got up. If only she had Eevee with her. She felt helpless right now.

Noctowl flew down to eye level, staring at the bike. "Noctowl?" The pokemon hooted back. "Alright. First, we have to free Ryo. Strike the energy beam with Steel Wing!" Cawing, Noctowl shot forward, wings glowing white. He managed to bisect the line, allowing Ryo to tumble away, dazed.

Behemoth rolled around, marking Noctowl and Hitomi as targets. Hitomi stepped back, unnerved by Cyberdramon's eyeless gaze. Then the bike roared and charged.

"Noctowl, ah...Confusion!" The pokemon's eyes opened, and twin beams of psychic energy lanced out, stabbing into Cyberdramon's mind, disrupting the hold the bike had over him. Instantly, Cyberdramon came to, and realized that the bike had been controlling him.

And Cyberdramon hated being controlled. He jumped off the bike, which immediately pitched over, thrown off balance. Cyberdramon then seized the bike, lifting it up, and hurling it several yards away. It landed, and tried to get up.

"ERASE CLAW!" Cyberdramon snarled. He shot forward, hands glowing electric blue, and delivered several crushing blows to the bike. Landing a few feet away, Cyberdramon glared at the bike, daring it to attack again.

Slowly, the bike managed to right itself, revved at Cyberdramon, then slowly drove itself away, defeated. Cyberdramon let out a great roar of victory. Then he remembered how that strange bird belonging to the girl had broken his control. His innate hatred of mental attacks came back to him, and he started turning towards Noctowl and Hitomi.

Ryo caught the movement, read it for what it was, and fixed Cyberdramon with a fierce glare. The digimon subsided, and Ryo checked on Hitomi. Thankfully, she hadn't noticed the by-play.

**Geckomon village**

"So, this is the terrible Geckomon village?" Henry asked, dubious.

"It's odd." Gabumon answered. "We should have heard something by now. There's always some tortured half-ballad/half-metal opera coming out of here."

"Is that even possible?" Takato asked, shivering.

"Somehow, they manage to do it."

"With these ears, it'd be daily torture for me." Terriermon frowned. "Maybe the neighbours finally complained."

"There are no neighbours." Gabumon insisted. "And this place is ideal for them. Few predators, large lake, no one living nearby to disturb them at their 'practise'." He shrugged again.

"Maybe..." Jeri looked around, concerned. "Maybe the Devas came through here."

"Don't smell them." Guilmon replied. "Don't smell bread either."

"Remind me to introduce you to the Atkins diet when we get back." Takato sighed. "Do you smell any Geckomon?"

"Dunno. What do they smell like, Takato?"

"You don't...oh, I guess you wouldn't." Henry said. "He never lived here, remember."

"Do smell digimon, though." Guilmon looked around. "Recent, too."

"Big?" Henry asked.

"No...lots of small ones...there!"

Four small green digimon burst out of a hut, bawling. "Please, don't eat us! We'll make the next batch better! We promise!"

"Ahh..." the humans managed.

"Batch of bread?" Guilmon asked eagerly.

One of the Geckomon advanced. "You're...not with the Devas, are you?"

"Nope!" Terriermon said. "We're a group of hard-travelling heroes travelling around to save lost digimon!"

"Henry?" Takato asked.

"TV." Henry sighed.

"Heroes?" the Geckomon asked.

"Yup."

"Get lost. We don't want your type here. Things are just fine!"

"Uhh...what?" Takato asked. "We didn't do anything..."

"If you're not with the Devas, then you're some sort of idiot hero wannabe trying to defeat them. We're perfectly happy with the giant snake Deva living here! Go bother someone else!"

"Snake?" Jeri asked. "Didn't we already beat a giant snake?"

"Yeah, we did." Henry replied.

Gabumon's eyes narrowed. "Maybe..." In a louder voice: "Alright, we'll leave. Come on, Jeri." He started walking away.

"Gabumon! Hey, wait-" Jeri protested.

_5 minutes later_

"What was that all about?" Takato demanded.

"You'd rather have picked a fight with the whole village?" Gabumon retorted.

"But we beat Santiramon." Terriermon protested. "Maybe it's just some guy pretending to be a Deva!"

"No. I know who it is."

"Well, Gabumon?" Henry asked.

"As you know, many digimon competed to become Devas. There was one digimon I knew who wanted more than anything to become a Deva. He would do anything, no matter how repugnant or dishonourable, to become one. When that lead Geckomon protested about the last 'batch' being pure enough, I knew who it was."

"Batch of bread?" Guilmon asked again.

"No, beer. Our foe is Orochimon, an eight headed snake digimon."

"Wait...you mean like the Orochi from Japanese legend?" Henry asked. Gabumon nodded. "Right, Dad said that he and the rest of the Monster Makers used popular mythology as a model for a lot of the early digimon."

"So...is there a sword in its tail?" Takato asked.

"Ahhh...no."

"Hey...you were paying attention." Jeri chirped. "And I thought you slept through that class."

"Well, some things stick, you know." Takato answered, not letting it slip that his cousin Kai had sent him an American comic retelling the legend. Okay, Susano-o as a rabbit was odd, but the art was good...

**Human World**

Reilly sighed. Talli had taken over telling the media about the 'overenthusiastic digimon cosplayer', Kenta was being (she hoped) raked over some very large coals by his parents, and Mecha Agumon...

Was there a 12 step program for bread addiction?

Anyway...Damage control was coming along okay. There was just that egg that those two creatures from Hitomi's homeworld had brought. It was resting by her workstation (prompting a lot of 'mother hen' jokes), rocking back and forth every now and then. After the first few hours of that, everyone ignored it, taking it as a normal part of the egg's...life?

So she worked away, trying to get the program for returning the children, and Isao, home.

She stopped as the sharp cracking noise echoed through the room. She looked down, and saw that the egg had started to split. Reilly got up, looking for someone, anyone, to help, but the egg was hatching far too quickly.

**Digital World**

Rika scowled again. Her D-Arc indicated that this was the right direction. What annoyed her was that the arrow kept changing on her, hinting that Hitomi was moving as well. Just not always in her direction. "Where is she GOING?"

Renamon glanced up. "She may not be looking for us. Perhaps her D-Arc has locked onto Jeri's signal?" Rika's hand clenched around her D-arc, knuckles going white. "Jealous?" Renamon asked impishly.

Rika glared back at Renamon. She wondered if the Renamon Akira had was this annoying.

At that moment, a small bundle of white hopped onto a rock right by Rika. "Hi!" Calumon said, making her jump. "This has been fun, but I miss Guilmon. Can we go home?"

**Takato's Elsewhere. I need to make names for these places...**

"What I don't get," Gabumon mused as they wandered around the area, a bit aimlessly, "is why the Geckomon were so adamant about getting rid of us. With someone like Orochimon hanging over their heads, you'd think they'd have begged us to stay."

"Well, maybe the last few people who fought Orochimon failed." Terriermon answered. "He does sound pretty tough, but I think we can take him."

"Well, but what if we blow it?" Takato asked. "Orochimon might take it out on the Geckomon again."

Terriermon smirked. "Then we just won't blow it. Come on, how bad can it be? Between us, we've put down how many Devas? And this guy's just a wannabe. Moumantai, already." He stopped. "I hear something."

"Smell digimon." Guilmon said, sniffing the air. "Big ones. Maybe two."

"Fall, blast you!" Andromon roared, dagger hand glancing off of the giant snake's hide. "You will terrorize the Geckomon no more!"

"I will terrorize whoever I choose, fool! Now be a dear and give up your data." Andromon's foe, a giant multi-headed snake, reared up and tried to land several bites on the smaller machine digimon. Andromon dodged each blow, and rolled clear. With a shout, the robot's chest opened, and two missiles shot out, each one spitting a hail of energy blasts.

"Why thanks!" Orochimon taunted, two more heads swallowing the missiles. "Wait, I'm on a diet. Have them BACK!" He spat them back out, knocking Andromon over. "Now, for the much needed iron in my diet..."

"Dragon Slash!" Growlmon landed on Orochimon's back, arm blades glowing blue and slashing through one of the snake digimon's heads, disintegrating it. A second head vanished in a hail of gunfire. Gargomon stormed onto the battlefield, taking several somewhat aimed shots at Orochimon. A third head vanished in a blaze of orange light, an attack that Orochimon knew all too well...

"Leomon!" the remaining five heads snarled in unison. "SO, you've returned and brought friends, have you?"

"I beat you last time, you foul serpent, and I shall beat you again!" His hand shot back, then forward, sword held out in a challenge.

"He's so cool and imposing." Jeri breathed.

"Don't you mean 'we'?" Gargomon asked pointedly.

Takato missed Gargomon's comment "Cool and imposing?"

"Don't ask me. She's your girlfriend," Henry shrugged, then winced as he realized Terriermon was rubbing off on him. "Let's finish this guy off now. Digi-Modify! Accelerator Activate!"

"Metal Greymon Activate!"

"Berserk Sword Activate!"

The three digimon seemed to blur, and, a second later, Orochimon reared back in agony, suddenly reduced to one head. "I guess you're 'Ichimon' now, huh?" Gargomon taunted.

"Be careful!" Leomon warned, a bit unsteady as the card's short-lived effect wore off. "He can-"

"REGENERATE!" Orochimon yelled, heads reappearing. "This isn't over!" With that, Orochimon twisted around and dove into the waters.

"Ah nuts." Takato groaned.

**Chuchidarumon village.**

"Thanks again." Ryo said to the elder Chuchidarumon. "We really appreciate it."

"For you, no problem. And it's about time someone showed that monster who was boss. So, who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Hitomi and Noctowl. Hitomi's human, sort of like me. Well, she's a girl, so she's not exactly like me..."

"I get it." the elder said as Hitomi giggled a bit. "Please, come in and lie down. Rest, you've earned it."

"You go ahead, Hitomi." Ryo said, waving her in. "I'm going to check on Cyberdramon." Hitomi nodded, and she and Noctowl entered. He heard the standard 'That some kind of digimon?" question from the elder, and went to the edge of the town, where Cyberdramon was waiting.

After a few minutes of walking, he finally found the clearing where the large digimon was resting. "You alright?" Cyberdramon grunted and nodded. "Good." Suddenly, the energy leash shot out, wrapping tightly around Cyberdramon. "NEVER. Threaten. Hitomi. Got it?"

"She's...dangerous. That thing with her...not a digimon."

Ryo's eyes narrowed. He had already drawn that conclusion. "I don't care. Understand?" Reluctantly, Cyberdramon nodded. "Let me spell this out. NOTHING is to happen to Hitomi, got it? Not a scratch."

Cyberdramon growled, but relented. The leash vanished. Then: "She'll never be yours." Strangely, it wasn't Cyberdramon's voice, but something...lighter.

Ryo missed it entirely. His hand clenched his D-Arc, hand a mix of white and red. After a few seconds of him shaking, he finally calmed down. "We'll see." was his only reply

On a ridge nearby, Noctowl watched the two. He then silently flew away, troubled.

**Near Orochimon's Lair**

"He showed up several weeks ago, demanding beer." Andromon explained, wincing as Jeri and Takato did their best to mend the wounds he had suffered. "The Geckomon fought back at first, but then...well, there was the princess..."

"Princess?" Takato asked, trying to imagine a large frog in a dress.

"I'm not clear on the details, but the Geckomon seemed adamant in their acceptance of the situation. They seemed happy to be Orochimon's slaves."

Gabumon frowned. "Geckomon aren't the bravest digimon around. Still, to roll over just like that is unusual."

"What's beer, Takato?" Guilmon asked.

"Something grownups drink." Takato replied. "It's all bitter and gross."

"How do you know?" Henry asked.

"Apple juice?" Jeri asked. Takato nodded. "Same thing happened with me when I was seven. I was sick for half an hour." Terriermon opened his mouth, eager to expand on the need for similar backgrounds in dating, but Henry wisely clamped his hand over it.

"So, we go save princess tomorrow?" Guilmon asked.

"Yeah, sure." Takato said. I guess we should - hey what's wrong with Andromon?" Andromon twitched, glowed and shrunk. After a second, the digimon was replaced with a smaller and bulkier digimon. "Guardromon?"

"Oh dear." the digimon groaned, in a voice that reminded Takato of C-3P0. "This could complicate things."

"No worries. I have a plan." Henry smiled darkly.

"What about me?" Guardromon looked around. "This is my crusade, after all."

"Wait here, you're still banged up. Unless that dent's supposed to be there?" Takato poked at a good sized dent in the metal digimon's chassis.

"Please don't do that."

**Orochimon's lair.**

Orochimon lay outside, recovering his strength. He had hoped, perversely, to meet Leomon again someday, but not with that kind of backup. And those humans were able to increase his power. Clearly, they had to go. Preferably with Leomon helpless and watching.

Shouts came from inside his cave. "Why me?" he wondered. A creaking noise mercifully got his attention. "Ahh, the new shipment has arrived." Licking his lips (an altogether fascinating sight, considering he licked all eight sets, one after the other), he came out of the pool. "This batch better be good, runts, or you'll get it."

"It will be the best you've ever had!" the lead Geckomon promised. Orochimon approached the barrels, and started drinking.

A few yards back, Henry watched. "And your plan is?" Gabumon asked.

"Well, wait until he's drunk, then clobber him."

"Cool. Just like the story." Takato said.

"Drunk?" Terriermon asked.

"Yeah. You know, all that beer making him woozy and uncoordinated?"

"Ahh...Henry, I think you've made a critical error." Gabumon said slowly.

Henry shrugged. "Law of averages, I guess. Well, he's still gonna be out of it, right?"

"No." Gabumon's voice grew more insistent. "Henry, everything here is data. 'Beer' is just one type. Once Orochimon finishes all those barrels, he'll be back to his full power!"

"Then we'd better get him now!" Takato said. "Come on, Guilmon!"

"No-" Gabumon started to say, but was cut off as Takato, Guilmon, Henry, and Terriermon ran out of the bushes. "They could have at least digivolved first!" he sighed, exasperated.

"I know, and after Hitomi spelled it out for them, too." Jeri sighed. "Ready?" Gabumon nodded. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

"Gabumon, digivolve to...Leomon!" The massive warrior exploded out of the brushes, but saw no-one. "Where did they go?"

"Huh?" one of the Geckomon asked, coming out from his own hiding place. "Uhh, I think Orochimon ate them."

"What?" Jeri gasped.

"Oh, relax, they're fine. That oversized snake only drinks beer. Humans just make him sick. I think. Never been a human in these parts before."

"Where are they?" Leomon demanded, looking very threatening (even for him! -ed)

"Eep...cave. In the cave!"

"Good. Out of my way, then." Leomon marched in, Jeri following. "Jeri, maybe-"

"We're partners." Jeri interrupted. "Besides, he's at full power now, and he has Takato and Henry and Guilmon and Terriermon. You need all the backup you can get."

"Sigh. Very well."

**Inside the cave**

Takato came to. "What happened?"

"Gabumon wasn't kidding when he said Orochimon was at full power again. I think he ate us and spat us out here. What did he HIT us with?"

"Alcohol Breath." Takato answered, glancing at his D-Arc. "I'm gonna be sick after this is over."

"There is no over, human!" Orochimon taunted. Pinned under his tail were the two partner digimon. "All I need now is Leomon, and-"

"HEY! I'M TRYING TO GET SOME SLEEP OVER HERE! AND WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE HUMIDITY IN HERE?" a female voice demanded.

Takato blinked. Maybe it was Orochimon's beer-soaked attack, but that sounded like...

Nahh, couldn't be.

"And would it kill you to get a bath in here? I mean, we're right in front of a pool of WATER! I'm a mess! What will my subjects think if they see me all messy after weeks in this cave?"

"They'll probably thank me for keeping you here!" Orochimon shouted back.

"Is it me, or does that sound like..." Henry gasped. He squinted a few jail cells over and saw someone chained to the wall. "A Lillymon?"

"That sounds like Mimi Tachikawa?" Takato added.

Henry groaned, muttering "funny dad. Real funny."

"So, you're ransoming her for beer?" Takato demanded. "That's sick!"

"Huh? Heck, the beer's a storage fee!"

"W-Wh...WHAT?" Lillymon almost shrieked. "You miserable liar! My loyal subjects would never do such a thing to their princess!"

"Yes, they would! You're a self-absorbed, spoiled brat with delusions of grandeur!"

"Season 1 personality. Lovely." Takato moaned. "Well, look, just let us out and we'll be on our way..."

"Yeah, RIGHT! I've had about twenty 'heroes' come by and try to free her! This is probably just some cunning ploy to get out and clobber me!"

"So you don't want to become a Deva?" Henry asked, trying to change the subject.

"Are you kidding? Those guys are nuts now! I'm just out for myself!" Orochimon shivered. "I'm just going to gather enough power to make it to the Human World, and take that place over. I should be strong enough to do that. Especially after I devour these two interlopers' data!"

"You'll do no such thing!" Leomon announced, elbow-checking Orochimon. Guilmon and Terriermon scrambled clear.

"Alright!" Takato yelled. "Digi...urrrghhh..." He sat back down. "I think I'm getting a hangover..."

"No problem, Leomon and I can handle it!" Jeri said. "Give up, you...you...you digital representation of an ancient Japanese mythical monster!"

"Ahh...not so loud." Henry complained, hands over his ears.

"I hope you do better than the last 20 who tried to fight him!" Lillymon called.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" everyone chorused.

"Well, excuse me!" Lillymon sniffed for extra effect. "I'll just sit here and ROT!"

"PLEASE DO!" Orochimon snarled. "Alcohol Breath!"

Leomon rolled, looking away, relieved to see that Jeri did likewise. He could see why Orochimon was hard to beat. Even without breathing it in, Orochimon's attack was starting to disorient him. "Jeri...now!"

"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

"Leomon, Matrix Digivolve to...GRAPLEOMON!"

"You can DIGIVOLVE?" Orochimon gasped. "I'll tear that secret from your bones! Alcohol Breath!"

"LION KILLING WAVE!" the two attacks collided, cancelling each other apart. "Jeri. I have to take him out in one blow, or he'll just regenerate."

"I know just the thing." Jeri answered, taking a card out. "Just be ready, this is going to take some timing." Leomon nodded. "Digi-Modify! Those Entrusted with the Orders for Destruction, Activate!"

"She has THAT?" Takato squeaked.

"That's a high end card!" Henry gasped.

Grappleomon shook with the unleashed power. "This is it! OUGI! SHISHIOU FUNSAIHA!" Arm turbines howling, he fired off a massive volley of Fist of the Beast Kings, each one striking and disintegrating a head, until there was only one left. "Into...Double Turbine SLASH!" The final strike consisted of Grappleomon leaping forward, back grazing the roof of the cavern, and bringing both fists down on Orochimon's last head in a silver coloured streak of energy. Orochimon howled and vanished, data scattering everywhere.

"eep." Terriermon squeaked, for once without a comeback. Guilmon wandered over to the jail doors and smashed the locks, freeing Henry and Takato.

"Allow me." Grappleomon said, ripping the door off of Lillymon's cell.

"Any time." Lillymon breathed. Confused by her tone, Grappleomon stepped forward and, with a single tug, ripped the chains holding her to the wall apart. "My hero!" Lillymon squealed, glomping the massive digimon.

The assembled Geckomon beheld the return of their princess with a range of emotions, ranging from 'dread' to 'horror' to 'kill the humans.' "I can never thank you enough." Lillymon said to Gabumon (who she pronounced utterly adorable, before trying to drag him away from Jeri to live 'the high life' in the village)

"What about us?" Terriermon griped.

"We kinda got captured, remember?" Takato replied.

"And, though it pains me to see my true love leave the village, I must do my duty to my loyal subjects-"

"Ah, my lady!" the elder Geckomon interrupted. "While we..appreciate your leadership in these chaotic times, do...ahh...do not let us distract you from the calling of your heart!"

"Huh?" Lillymon asked, too startled to be annoyed by the interruption.

"Yes!" another cried. "Clearly, fate has brought you two together! We shall manage while you go off and do...whatever it is you royal types do with your true love!" The tamers were too busy gagging, laughing and/or looking stunned to believe it. Gabumon just looked sick.

Lillymon's eyes lit up. "But what about you?"

"We shall keep EVERYTHING you have taught us in mind."

"Really? Even the name of the person who said I was self-absorbed, spoiled and bratty?"

"We executed him right after he said it!" The elder proclaimed, hoping she never found out he was the one who said it. "Go, with all our best wishes and blessings!"

"Well...Okay!" She hugged Gabumon again. "Looks like you have a new travelling partner!"

"Me?" Guardromon asked.

"Well, okay...two new ones."

"Ahh...Jeri?" Takato asked. "You sure about this?"

2 hours after they left, the Geckomon threw a massive party. Orochimon was gone, and their self-appointed princess had hitched up and left. Who wouldn't party after something like that happened? Good times were had by them, until...

Well, that's a few episodes down the road. It wasn't pretty.

Next episode

Hitomi and Ryo encounter a strange creature  
-Impmon chases after Rika and Renamon, and acquires a terrifying new power  
-Indramon takes Yamaki to find his son.


	27. The Final Hurdle

Reilly looked down at the odd creature. The egg had opened only moments ago, revealing a fully-grown...something. He (it looked like a he, to Reilly) was covered in blue and black fur, resembling something between a fox and a wolf, and was standing on his hind legs, regarding Reilly curiously. "Umm...welcome to our world?" Reilly hazarded. The creature calmly sized up Reilly, nodded his head, and knelt before her. "Umm...shouldn't I be getting a D-Arc right about now?"

"A what?" Rukario asked, confused by the term.

-----

Digicross Tamers Episode 26

'The Final Hurdle'

-----

"Now," Yamaki demanded, glaring at Indramon.

"Just wander around the Digital World, trying to find The Wandering Tamer. Yes, I am sure that would be a simple matter." Indramon tried to return Yamaki's glare. "We are wanted by the remaining Deva and the forces loyal to the True Sovereign. I could not protect you. And, if I understand it, your former partner-"

"Don't call him that!" Yamaki shook as he thought of Impmon. "That...filth has nothing to do with me."

"Like it or not, Yamaki, it is the truth. You are safer here."

"My son is out there."

"Take him," a voice thundered. "His destiny is not here, old friend."

"My lord!" Indramon spun around, looking at something obscured by darkness. "If we leave, and someone spots this place, then-"

"It won't matter much longer. 'He' has been found. This will soon end."

"I see." Indramon bowed. "Come, human."

"I have a name."

"And you tried to destroy my brethren and this world. Be grateful that I am according you this level of courtesy."

--

Impmon glared out over the landscape, Chatsuramon behind him. "So, we goin', or what?"

"Soon," the dog Deva grumbled. "We first must know where to look. The True Sovereign's servants now search the land. See?" A long red tendril reached up, and then dove back underground. "These tendrils are an extension of the Sovereign himself."

"Looks like strawberry jello." Impmon hopped off the ledge. "And waiting's not my style. Try to keep up, Fido!" With that, he darted off, pursuing his Tamer. Chatsuramon shook his head, and started following.

--Real World

"Get him, Veedramon!" Kazu shouted. "Card Slash! Boost Chip Activate!"

"You got it! V-Breath Arrow!" Veedramon's attack slammed into the Triceramon, but had little effect. "He's mad. Now what?"

"Ah...ahhh...what did Taichi do in V-Tamers..." Kazu tried to recall that particular comic where his idol had faced a Triceramon. Briefly, he wished Kenta were here; unfortunately, after Metal Agumon had mistaken his dad's car for another digimon, Kenta was grounded.

"I said NOW WHAT?"

"I'm THINKING!"

Something small, blue, and black darted by, landing a pair of solid kicks in Triceramon's face. It then jumped, and fired some sort of bolt that hurt Triceramon. Kazu blinked. Oh good, it's Rika, he thought. Then it became aww NUTS, it's Rika, she won't let me hear the end of this.

Then, he thought: wait, that's not Renamon. Unless Renamon shrunk and turned blue. And Rika was never that good-looking...Oh. It's Ms. Reilly.

Reilly glared at Kazu as Rukario smacked around Triceramon. "You do know your father's on the way, right?"

"Ahh NUTS!"

--

Hitomi picked her way along the rough path, glancing at her D-Arc. Someone with a D-Arc was coming this way; by her best guess, they were only a day or so out. "Come on," she called to Ryo and Cyberdramon. "We should run into them soon!"

Ryo waved back, but didn't pick up his pace. He was a little disappointed, to be honest; he liked being alone with Hitomi; another set of eyes might interfere with his...

Well, he decided, yeah. I am flirting with her. So what? Beside him, Cyberdramon grunted. Ryo flushed for a second, wondering if he had vocalized that last thought, glared at him, and lengthened his stride.

Cyberdramon watched Ryo pull ahead, and then glanced at Hitomi. Ignoring the small, faint voice in the back of his brain, he upped his classification of the human girl from 'distraction' to 'threat' and trudged on. He heard Ryo call out to Hitomi, telling her to slow down.

Then he picked out a scream, and sped up. Ryo might be in trouble. Good or bad, Cyberdramon had to help Ryo.

And if something happened to the girl...well, it was one less distraction for Ryo.

--

Rika felt a familiar headache coming on. Specifically a small, flop-eared, white one called Calumon.

"And then I wandered all over the place and I met this Doggymon who looked weird and then threw stuff at me and it kinda hurt but he ran off before I could ask him why he did that-"

"Calumon." Renamon glanced at Calumon. "Take a breath." Calumon did so, inhaling, then exhaling. "Now keep doing that." The small digimon did so, comically over-inhaling. Idly, Rika wondered if Calumon could hyperventilate, and if doing so would bring on a nice, quiet fit of unconsciousness. She glanced over the rocky hills, then back at her D-Arc.

Renamon glanced over her shoulder. Both of them frowned. "A second D-Arc," Renamon observed. "I wonder whose it is."

Rika had a good idea, but said nothing.

--

Impmon looked around, annoyed. Chatsuramon had said that Yamaki had gone this way, but as far as he could tell, the trail was cold. "This bites."

"No, I bite," Chatsuramon replied wryly. "And it seems the trail has gone cold."

"Yeah, I-" Impmon stopped. He could...sense something approaching. Something loud and motorized was approaching.

Behemoth snarled, seeing the two digimon. More victims, it decided, making a dash for the smaller, and obviously easier, prey.

--

Jeri looked up, suddenly feeling a sudden spike of concern. "Is everything alright, Jeri?" Gabumon asked, trying to ignore Lillymon hovering near him.

"Yeah. I'm just worried about Hitomi."

"She'll be fine. Rika's probably found her by now. She's probably safer than we are." Terriermon shrugged. "What," he asked, "you saw how fast Rika took out that Snake Deva, right?"

Henry blinked. "Snake? Did I miss one?"

Takato sighed, while Jeri giggled. "Uhh, yeah..."

-Flashback

Takato stood, card still over his head, ready to be passed through his D-Arc. Growlmon stood a few feet in front of him, similarly stunned.

"Now that's how you do it." Rika said to Jeri and Hitomi, both of who were watching Rika with awe. She and Kyuubimon had, after all, taken out Sandiramon with one move and an Attack card.

"Rika, you're so cool," Jeri breathed. Hitomi nodded. Rika said nothing, while Kyuubimon smiled faintly. Whether it was at Rika's embarrassment or Takato's was anyone's guess.

-End Flashback

"Oh," Henry said. "That quick?"

"I was getting to it," Takato protested.

"Guilmon told me all about it," Terriermon continued. "It's not your fault, Takato. Rika was just faster. And better." Takato's right eye started to twitch. "And smarter." Murder entered Takato's eyes. "And cuter."

Jeri faked a gasp. "You really...think so?"

"Wha-?" Takato's mind nearly snapped by the subject change.

"That was rude. And evil." Henry didn't bother hiding his amusement, though.

"Oh, come on. They both needed it."

--

Noctowl flew around helplessly, unable to attack the red gel-like substance enveloping Hitomi. He had already tried to pull her clear of it, but the substance had adhered to her and hardened. Its makeup prevented physical attacks; anything he did that was strong enough to damage the gel would hurt Hitomi. It had no mind it could detect, so psychic attacks were out. He latched onto Hitomi's outstretched arm as Ryo made it, and the two tried to pull Hitomi clear.

No luck; Ryo watched with horror as the gel crept up and over Hitomi's head, mouth still opened in mid-scream. He whirled on Cyberdramon. "GET HER OUT OF THERE!" Cyberdramon stood there, apparently unmoving. "What are you-" he stopped as Noctowl flew down and cawed at him angrily.

Ryo remembered then. Anything Cyberdramon did might hurt Hitomi. And it'd been made clear that the human girl wasn't the fight-happy digimon's favourite person. Furiously, Ryo tried to think of an answer.

Inside the prison, Hitomi found her every sense cut off, somehow able to breathe but do nothing else. And there was a very disturbing tickling sensation in the back of her mind.

--

In another place, the Sovereign paused as the flood of information came in. Despite the startling data he was getting, most of it was irrelevant for now. But there were bits that could be used. Especially against the one human who had been fighting against him for the past few years. As well as the other humans and their curious digimon.

--

Impmon rolled off to one side as Chatsuramon rammed the giant motorcycle head-on. "What the heck IS that thing?"

"Behemoth. He was intended to be a servant of the Devas." Chatsuramon's eyes never left the motorcycle. "But like all things taken from the human world, it turned against us and became a mindless engine of destruction."

Impmon grinned. "Sounds like my kinda toy. BADA BOOM!"

The fireball splashed off the front of the bike, which immediately charged at the small demon digimon. Cackling, Impmon jumped up, flipped over, and landed on the seat of Behemoth.

"Impmon, YOU FOOL! It will control you and force you to ride it until the end of time!" It wasn't that Chatsuramon was concerned for Impmon. However, having a rider made Behemoth that much more powerful.

"Forget it. NOTHING CONTROLS ME!" The shout was more for Impmon's own benefit. Already, he could feel the bike's 'mind' reaching out to Impmon, trying to take him over.

--

Renamon stopped, glancing around. "Rika, we should move more quickly. I sense...something is wrong. We should leave this area and find Hitomi as quickly as possible."

Rika nodded, putting Calumon down. "Stay here. Digi-Modify! Digivolution ACTIVATE!"

Calumon watched as Renamon digivolved. "That is really cool, Renamon. Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Later," Renamon answered. "We have to get out of here, now."

"What is it," Rika asked, worried at the apprehension she sensed from her partner.

"I do not know. But it seems familiar somehow."

--

"Digi-Modify! Knight Device, ACTIVATE!" Ryo slashed the card through his D-Arc, and two lances appeared in Cyberdramon's hands. "Cyberdramon, go!"

Cyberdramon lumbered forward, obeying Ryo's commands. Raising one arm, he struck at the red substance trapping Hitomi. It had fully hardened around her. A few cracks appeared, but the lance disintegrated a second later. Startled, Cyberdramon stepped back. After another glare from Ryo, he attacked again, with similar results. "It destroys digital matter."

"I can SEE THAT. Get her OUT, NOW!"

Cyberdramon could see that Ryo was not in the mood to argue. The venom in Ryo's voice took even Noctowl aback. He cares more for her than me, Cyberdramon thought.

Fine. Then I'll have to win him back. He raised an arm up, hand glowing white, ignoring Ryo's sudden shout of terror. The hand stabbed down, then up, clenching a long...root was the best word for it. It twitched as Cyberdramon yanked it out, the digimon howling in pain as his hand started to de-rez as it gripped the creature. With a mighty yank, Cyberdramon tore the root out of the ground, snapping it off of the trap holding Hitomi, and flung it away. It writhed and disintegrated. Hitomi's crystalline prison shattered, Hitomi falling forward.

"Hitomi!" Ryo yelled, running over to her. Terrified by the experience, Hitomi didn't object as Ryo put his arms around her, she doing likewise to Ryo, shaking. "It's OK. You're all right now, Hitomi."

Cyberdramon stood there, glaring at Ryo.

--

Impmon whooped with joy as Behemoth whipped around, trying to throw the small demon off. Some distance off, and straining to keep up, Chatsuramon marveled at the resilience Impmon was showing. He was resisting the influence of the digital motorbike and actually managing, slowly, to gain some control over it. It was fitful and erratic, but Chatsuramon could sense that Behemoth was slowly yielding to the sheer stubbornness of the Rookie digimon.

Then he felt it. HIM! With a snarl, Impmon pulled at the handlebars, forcing Behemoth to change course, taking it on a new heading, rapidly outpacing Chatsuramon.

--

Rika sensed the Deva approaching before she saw it, taking out a card and watching, still somewhat awed, as it changed into a blue card.

"That's so neat! Can you make me blue, too?" Calumon hopped up and down, totally oblivious to the approaching threat.

Renamon stood in front of Rika, arms out, ready to attack. To her surprise, she saw, not only Indramon, the Horse Deva, approaching in a non-confrontational manner, but was also carrying Yamaki on his shoulder. Neither looked too pleased with the arrangement.

"You," Yamaki gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Rika replied, card nearing her D-Arc.

"Humans, please," Indramon called. "There is no time for this bickering. We are trying to find another human. Have you seen him?"

Him, Rika wondered. Did he know about...wait. "You mean Ryo? He's here somewhere?"

"He is in the area, yes," Indramon answered. "Tell us where he is, Human, and we shall be on our way. I..." Indramon glanced down, finally noticing the digimon with Rika. "Renamon and...YOU! You should not be here, Catalyst!"

"My name's Calumon!" The small white digimon stamped his feet, pouting. That put Indramon off.

"Indramon," Renamon replied. "So good of you to finally notice me." She stopped, glancing off to one side. "I hear...a vehicle?"

"No. It cannot be him!" Indramon reached up and grabbed Yamaki, setting him on the ground. His other hand unhooked the massive shell from his back. "Run. You cannot defeat this foe!"

Rika glanced at her D-Arc, made a quick mental calculation, and took out Hitomi's pokeball. Eevee appeared, startled. "That way, she's not far. GO!" Eevee nodded, and shot off.

"Will he be alright?" Renamon asked.

"Hmph. The little toy poodle'll probably punch through a mountain. But between another Deva, Yamaki, and whatever's coming, we're going to need all the help we can get." Rika kept an eye on Yamaki, who seemed to be distracted, haunted by something. The roaring got louder, until...

The motorbike leaped over a sand dune, and landed several yards from the group. "Well, well." Impmon grinned at Yamaki. "Looks like I found me a whole pile of butt to kick. Starting with yours. Hey, red," he called to Rika. "Still think I'm not much of a threat?"

Renamon's eyes narrowed. "Get off that bike and show me."

"Thanks, toots, but I like it up here. And I got a sudden hankering for fox a la road kill, get me?"

"I certainly intend to. DIAMOND STORM!"

Indramon brought up his weapon. "TREASURE SHELL!"

"Oh, YEAH! BRING IT, YOU TWO!" Impmon screamed in delight as he gunned Behemoth forward, dodging around the attacks and aiming right at Yamaki. "Infernal FIREBALL SUMMON!"

--Next Episode

-A joyous reunion  
-Impmon's evolution  
-The last Deva and the attack of the Southern Guardian

Digicross Tamers: Tears of a Phoenix.


	28. Tears of a Phoenix

-Digital World

The transport beam passed over the lake. Its riders, on the other hand, landed right in the lake.

"Gahh, MY HAIR!" Lillymon was the first up, making a beeline for the shore, shaking off all the water she could. "And I thought that cave was humid. My hair will be ruined!"

"Speak for yourself," Gabumon growled, helping Jeri up. "I guess I'm sleeping downwind tonight."

Jeri opened her mouth, then closed it. "Ahh, wet fur! Gabumon, that's horrible!" She looked around. "Guilmon? Takato?"

"Over here!" Henry called, a very muddy Terriermon pulling his face out of the ground. Takato and Guilmon were bent over a closer patch of mud, pulling on something.

"Little help? Guardromon sank again!" Takato's hands slipped off, sending him backwards into the mud. "I'm glad mom's not here to see this."

-Tokyo

"Nami? How're you doing?" Rumiko Nonaka wandered over, carrying a small cup of tea for the teacher. "Here, you could use this." A few meters away, Takato's parents were pacing back and forth in the small presentation room at the Hypnos building.

"Thanks," Nami Asaji answered quietly, taking the tea and taking a large gulp. She winced as the heat burned her throat a bit.

"No, you're supposed to sip it." Rumiko took the cup away and held the teacher as her coughing fit gave way to a few sobs. "You miss her a lot, don't you? I panicked when mom told me about Rika, but...I know she'll be alright." She sighed a bit. "At least it's not boys. I don't know what I'd do if she started sneaking off with someone at her age."

Nami stared at her friend, caught the mischievous expression in her eye, then laughed. "Thanks," she managed.

"Oh, forget it. Say, how about after all this is finished, I introduce you to a few people I know, and you try modelling?"

"But...but I'm already..."

"Oh, I don't mean give up teaching," Rumiko insisted. "Didn't we both dream of being models when we were their age? Come on, you look great, you could do it!"

"I'll think about it," Nami finally answered. Privately, she dreaded that 'after all this was finished', as Rumiko had put it, Hitomi would be going home. "Maybe...maybe I will."

"Great! I'll make some calls!"

"No, wait, I..." Nami groaned. "Why do I let her talk me into these things?"

-  
Digicross Tamers 27 Tears of a Phoenix -

Loss. And pain. Oh yes, always the pain.

The giant bird, once feared by many, stalked around its castle, muttering.

Santiramon and Pajiramon, lost to the all-consuming chaos. Indramon, leaving and leaving his former master all alone. One by one, his subjects, the very land he controlled and watched over, was slowly devoured by the creeping rot that had been with this world, almost from the start.

"No more. No MORE! I shall leave this place and find my own fate, rather than wait for it to come to me! Beware, 'True Sovereign'! For Zhuquiamon shall burn you to the ground, and feast on your ashes! Yours and all those who have betrayed me!" With that, the massive phoenix's wings spread, and he flew through the wall of his once-elegant castle, the entire structure collapsing behind him. "One way or another, I shall never return to this place again, unless it is with the corpse of my enemy in my beak."

-

Yamaki had to admit it; Rika was an experienced digimon...tamer, did they call themselves? And Renamon, no, Kyuubimon it was called now, had a certain grace.

Impmon gave a wild whoop of delight as he piloted Behemoth, dodging between Renamon's attacks. So far, Indramon had held back; Impmon's smaller size, even on Behemoth, made the massive Deva's size a liability. He was a bit torn; as much as he wanted to grind Renamon under the wheels of his new 'ride', as he referred to it, he also wanted a shot at Yamaki, standing near the other human. Chatsuramon seemed content to stay off to one side, letting Impmon do all the work. To Impmon, that was just fine.

"Chatsuramon, cease this madness!" Indramon glared at the dog Deva angrily. "Can you not see that the whole of the Digital World is threatened?"

"All I see is two human vermin and some digimon that must be eliminated," Chatsuramon rumbled. "But if you wish to settle our...debate...now, old friend, come, face me." 

"Wait here," Indramon grumbled, stepping around the running battle. "If I fall, get the Catalyst out of here."

"My name is Calumon! Ca! Lu! Mon!"

Indramon looked at the tiny white digimon, and smiled. "Of course. Forgive me, Calumon. Human," he said to Rika, "Calumon is your responsibility. Please, ensure nothing happens to him."

Mentally, Rika groaned, wondering how much longer she'd be stuck with the annoying little cry-baby. "Crystal Fire, ACTIVATE!"

Yamaki just glared at Impmon, wishing he had some way to take down the beast that had taken his son away.

-

"You're sure you're OK?"

"Ryo, I'm fine," Hitomi replied, becoming a little exasperated.

Ryo stopped. "I...gahh. Sorry," he muttered. A few feet behind him, Cyberdramon grumbled but said nothing.

"Is everything alright, Cyberdramon," Hitomi asked, looking at the massive digimon. As she spoke, Noctowl looked off to one side, then flew away.

"He's fine," Ryo answered. "Just a little edgy since that red stuff attacked you. I've seen it before, but it never did anything like that. It just sat there." He glanced in the direction Noctowl had flown. "Where's your friend headed?"

"I don't know. Maybe he found something." A bit worried, Hitomi ran off after the pokemon. Curious, Ryo followed.

-

Guilmon stiffened, looking around, sniffing the air. "What is it, boy?"

"Smell Impmon!" Guilmon...bristled, for want of a better word.

Henry looked around. "Is he close?"

"No. Far, but not too far. Smell Rika too and Renamon. And...Calumon?"

"You mean...RIKA FOUND CALUMON?" Takato just stared at Guilmon. "Then...then...WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THAT WANDERING AROUND?" Jeri winced at Takato's volume.

"Hey," Lillymon complained, "you DID save me, you know. Maybe that's why you came my way?"

"Come on," Henry told everyone. "We'd better get going." Privately, he did find the whole situation a bit amusing. Must be Terriermon rubbing off on me, he decided. "What is it?"

Gabumon stared ahead, in the direction Guilmon was heading, half-dragging Takato with him. "That direction...Zhuquiamon's castle is near. I hope he has not fallen under the same spell that took Baihumon."

"Moumantai, furball," Terriermon drawled. "We'll just clobber the big bird the same way we did Baihumon. What could go wrong?"

"Plenty," Henry answered grimly.

-

Zhuquiamon felt it, felt the surges of power. Felt the...wrongness?

"Humans! Humans have been brought to this world! Very well then, I shall purge the chaos from the land by myself!"

-

Hitomi had been running for a few minutes when she spotted Noctowl flying back towards her. Carrying..."Eevee," she gasped. Eevee, riding on the back of Noctowl, saw Hitomi and leaped off, landing in her arms.

Ryo caught up just as Hitomi caught her partner in her arms. "Hmm. Cute girl, cute partner. Figures." He watched as Hitomi held the small pokemon tightly.

"Great to see you again," Eevee whispered. "Are you OK?" Hitomi nodded. Then, squirming free of Hitomi's embrace, he caught sight of Ryo. "We met?"

Hitomi looked at Ryo. "Eevee, this is Ryo Akiyama."

"Huh? But..." Eevee caught on. "Right, got it. Nice to meet ya, thanks for taking care of her. Unless you tried something..."

Hitomi's face went red. "Eevee!"

Ryo caught the tone in Eevee's voice, and laughed. "Perfect gentleman, I assure you." Cyberdramon growled at that, getting a glare from Ryo.

Eevee did catch that, and resolved to keep an eye on him. There was something..."Rika! Hitomi, Rika's in trouble, we gotta go help her!"

"Eh?"

Ryo looked startled. "Rika? Rika Nonaka? She's near?"

"Yeah," Eevee replied. "Come on, let's move!"

Hitomi nodded, taking a card out of her pack. Ryo watched, fascinated, as the card turned blue. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

"Eevee, Matrix Digivolve to...Karatenmon! Hitomi, hop on!" Hitomi clambered onto Karatenmon's back, and the two flew off, following Noctowl.

"Matrix...evolution..." Ryo stood there for a few more seconds, then snapped out of his daze. "Well, come on! Sounds like there's a fight happening." Cyberdramon growled again, this time in anticipation.

He hadn't been in a really good fight in months.

--

As Kyuubimon dodged around another hail of fireballs, she reflected that she might have been underestimating Impmon all this time. Back on earth, he had been little more than a nuisance. Even when it was revealed that he was actually partnered with Yamaki, she had still given the small demonic digimon little thought.

She had to allow a certain grudging respect for Impmon now; He handled the massive motorbike, comically oversized for him, like a master. And the range of powers he now displayed, including the rather spectacular Deva Clone ability he had apparently seized from Khumbiramon, splitting himself and the bike into multiple copies, confounding hers and Indramon's attacks. Then there was the Deva, Chatsuramon. Seemingly content on watching the action from the sidelines.

She leaped back as Impmon made another pass, landing near Rika. "We need to leave. I cannot win here."

Rika glanced at Kyuubimon. "What about digivolving to Taomon?"

"Impmon's power is...weird. Between the motorbike and the power he's absorbed from other digimon, his power level is nearly that of an ultimate digimon; it's certainly enough to keep me at bay, as well as Indramon."

Rika frowned; she hated running from a fight, much as she agreed with her partner's observation. She had found Calumon, and Eevee was probably with Hitomi already. She'd even managed to track down Yamaki, as uncomfortable as the thought made her; Rika had never really forgiven the man for what he'd tried to do to Hitomi. The one bright point was that, as she had expected when this whole mission had started, she had wound up doing everything. Which was only natural, she being the best digimon tamer around. "You think he'll let us leave?"

Kyuubimon stared hard at Impmon, who was waiting for her to make the next move. "Not likely. You and Calumon, yes. Indramon and...that man," Kyuubimon muttered, sharing Rika's opinion of the former Hypnos commander, "they'd slow us down."

"Go then," Yamaki whispered to Rika. She shuddered a bit; she hadn't noticed him approach. "That...thing is my responsibility."

"You don't get to play martyr until I say so," Rika snapped back. Okay, she decided. I'll power up Kyuubimon with a Metal Garurumon card, and then-

"Shadow FLASH!" Two beams of ebony energy slammed into Behemoth, flipping the bike over and forcing Impmon to leap off. Swords already drawn, Karatenmon landed near Kyuubimon. 

"Karatenmon," Rika gasped. "Then..."

"Rika!" Hitomi ran over to Rika, waving. Unexpectedly, Rika threw her arms around Hitomi, holding her tightly. Just as abruptly, she released her bear-hug, embarrassed at the display.

"Don't hold back on my account," Kyuubimon whispered, just loud enough for Rika to hear.

Glaring daggers at her partner, Rika tried to recover. "Umm...I'm glad you're alright."

Hitomi started to say something, then saw Yamaki. The man winced a bit as she saw a trace of fear cross her expression. This is going to haunt me for the rest of my life, Yamaki thought, trying to find something to say to Hitomi.

"D...Dad?"

Yamaki stopped, forgetting everything else as he heard someone he'd never expected to see again. Slowly, he turned around, the stalemate between Impmon, Kyuubimon, and Karatenmon seemingly obliterated by the sight of his son, virtually unchanged since the last time he'd seen him. "Ryo," he breathed.

A scream broke the scene. Cyberdramon, tired of waiting, leaped from behind Ryo and dove at Impmon and Behemoth, his claws carving deep gashes in the side of the bike as Impmon forced the vehicle clear of the attack. "You'd better hope I can buff that out!" 

Cyberdramon's only reply was a snarl.

Chatsuramon growled. "Face me, beast! Treasure Mallet!" The dog Deva charged, reshaping himself into a large hammer, flying at Cyberdramon. He impacted on something large and silvery, shattering it and sending him backwards.

Indramon watched with a bit of regret as his Treasure Shell was shattered by Chatsuramon, depriving him of his one weapon. "This is not our battle, minion of chaos."

"Every battle is our battle, traitor," Chatsuramon replied. "We thrive in the chaos of conflict. You can feel it, can you not? You are a part of this world."

"Not by choice, Chatsuramon."

Impmon, now outnumbered and out-gunned, looked around, rage building. He saw Cyberdramon, recognising his former friend. Who had also been able to digivolve. Everyone around him had been able to reach their Ultimate level, leaving Impmon behind. Laughing at him.

No more. "No MORE!" Impmon screeched, flinging his arms out. In each hand, a crossbow appeared, scale sized imitations of Pajiramon's weapon. He took aim, and fired. One bolt slammed into Indramon's side, causing the Deva to scream in pain.

The second struck Chatsuramon, who reacted similarly. "TRAITOR!"

"I don't care who I have to go through. I will be the STRONGEST!" The arrows pulsed again. Incredibly, the two Devas were felled; everyone watched as Impmon drew the power out of them, into himself.

"With one shot," Karatenmon gasped. "That's not..."

"Possible," Kyuubimon completed, similarly stunned. "Impmon's power level...Yamaki, he's your partner? Can you control him?"

Yamaki glanced at Kyuubimon, Ryo wondering who 'Yamaki' was. "My D-Arc...it was taken from me by..." he gestured to where Chatsuramon was, now drained and slowly fading out of existence. "Ryo?"

Ryo nodded. "On it, dad. Digi-Modify! Brave Shield and Knight Device, Activate!" Howling, Cyberdramon leaped again, slamming the just-formed shield into Impmon's face, throwing the small demon digimon off of Behemoth. The shield bash was followed by a hurled lance, which Impmon was only barely able to avoid. Cyberdramon summoned up the second lance, ready to attack and finish off Impmon.

"You're not stopping me that easily, bub," Impmon panted. With a shout, he practically ripped the remaining energy out of the two injured Devas, absorbing them fully into his small frame.

--

As he flew through the skies, Zhuquiamon felt the death-throes of his last servant.

Indramon had left him. Betrayed him. Abandoned him. But, to Zhuquiamon, the former Deva still was, in a way, Zhuquiamon's child. 

And Zhuquiamon fully intended to avenge his servant's demise.

--

Impmon staggered back, body wracked with pain as it tried to assimilate the data of the last two Devas. To him, it felt like they were still fighting him, trying to take him over.

Ryo saw it differently. "Hit him now! Before he can power up again!" Cyberdramon obeyed, hurling his shield, then the other lance at Impmon. Kyuubimon and Karatenmon followed suit, Shadow Flash and Dragon Wheel slamming into Impmon seconds later. The small demon was sent flying. "I think we got him," Ryo sighed.

"Why..." a weak voice asked. "All this data I absorb...and I can't digivolve. What am I missing?"

"No way," Rika breathed. "After all that, he's still alive?"

What she said next was lost in the wave of flames that seemed to swallow everything.

--

"Hurry," Henry yelled. "I-" he stopped as the area the group was running to suddenly seemed to ignite. "What the..."

Gabumon stared intently at the inferno, then spotted the one responsible. "Zhuquiamon. Everyone, we'd better digivolve now. We face another Guardian. And Zhuquiamon is even stronger than Baihumon was."

"Story of our lives," Terriermon sighed.

--

Karatenmon's wings opened up, allowing Hitomi and Rika to see; several feet away, Ryo and Yamaki, Calumon paradoxically in Yamaki's arms, stepped out from behind Cyberdramon, who had covered the two boys. Kyuubimon, too far away to help Rika, had taken cover as soon as he had seen Hitomi's partner move to cover both girls.

All of them beheld the massive form of Zhuquiamon, several licks of flame coming from his wings. He glared balefully at Impmon, struggling back towards the massive motorbike, sensing Indramon's essence in him, as well as that of his other servants. "I will take pleasure in your demise, worm."

"Yeah? YEAH? Well get in line, pal, 'cause there's lotsa jerks who want a piece of me." Impmon waved a fist at the guardian. "I ain't gonna fall over 'cause some flyin' turkey says so."

"Hmph. You talk bravely for one who is about to die."

Ryo, energy leash around Cyberdramon, struggled to keep the massive digimon under control. "Zhuquiamon," he explained to his father. "He's the southern guardian of the digital world. I'd heard rumours that the loss of his servants had driven him over the edge, but nothing like this..."

"Can you beat him," Yamaki asked.

Ryo glanced at Karatenmon and Kyuubimon. "Against Zhuquiamon? He's second only to Azulongmon in power, and I'm not too eager to call another guardian for help." Ryo smiled grimly. "Maybe they'll forget about us."

"Not likely, human," Zhuquiamon snarled.

"Yeah, 'cause I'll have ya done up for thanksgiving," Impmon growled, getting back on Behemoth. "Hope you got a long neck, pal. You're about to kiss-"

"SILENCE! CRIMSON BLAZE!" A massive wall of fire lanced out at Impmon, who drove Behemoth right at it.

"Yeah...Yeah...YEAH!" Impmon screamed in delight as he used his powers to absorb all the flame he could, boosting his own strength. "You think you're something? You're NOTHING, sparrow-face!" There was a sharp shaking noise as the back of Behemoth detonated. Impmon leaped off the dying vehicle, hurling fireball after fireball at the red guardian.

They splashed uselessly against Zhuquiamon's belly. A claw flashed out, catching Impmon and sending him back to the ground, wounded. "Pathetic," Zhuquiamon snorted, turning his attention to the humans.

Unnoticed, Impmon twitched, the guardian's last insult burning at his soul.

--

Ryo saw the fight, saw how it had to turn out. He leaned very close to Cyberdramon, voice barely even a whisper. "Can you take him?" Cyberdramon nodded. "Good. Nothing happens to Hitomi. Or her partner." The digimon started to growl, then cut off as the energy leash tightened. "Understand?"

"...yes." The leash vanished, and Cyberdramon shot skyward.

"Hey, Rika," Ryo called in a louder, lighter voice. "Finishing blow gets the crown."

"Shut up," Rika replied. Digimon Queen, that's what everyone called her. Yeah, the inevitable reply came, only because the King vanished.

Fine, Rika decided. Once they were out of here, they'd settle this. "Digi-modify! Matrix digivolution activate!" A part of her watched as Kyuubimon digivolved to Taomon, and joined Cyberdramon and Karatenmon in their attack.

Rika watched, satisfied, as they fell into a rhythm; Cyberdramon and Karatenmon took turns alternating attacks at close range, while Taomon hit Zhuquiamon at range, preventing the massive guardian from making any accurate attack.

Still, Rika hated playing support..."Digi-modify! Positron Laser activate!"

Hearing this, Hitomi nodded and followed suit. "Digi-modify! War Greymon's Gaia Force activate!" Both affected digimon yelled out the appropriate attacks, striking the face of Zhuquiamon; Cyberdramon followed up with his Cyber Nail attack, both claws tearing long furrows along the neck of the guardian. Despite the situation, Hitomi felt ill, seeing the sheer violence being displayed.

Yamaki looked a bit worried too, as Zhuquiamon batted Cyberdramon away with a wing buffet, and his beak lashed out at Karatenmon. There was a feeling, something crawling inside his gut, presaging some danger.

Suddenly, Zhuquiamon was wrapped in flames. "Enough! Will no-one challenge me? Must I endure the infantile flailings of these pathetic worms?"

"No..." a voice whispered. "No..."

Yamaki heard it, and went pale. "Impmon," he whispered. Hearing that, Ryo spun around, shaken by the fear in his father's voice.

Pulling himself out of his self-made crater, Impmon forced himself to his feet. As he staggered up, a black aura started to pulse around him. "No-one...calls me...PATHETIC!" He shot up, -flying- at Zhuquiamon. 

Karatenmon and Taomon felt it; they pulled back, sensing something terrible was about to happen. Caught up in his assault, Cyberdramon ignored the attacker.

Zhuquiamon ignored it too, calling up another wave of flame to hurl at the oncoming rookie digimon.

--

It was Lillymon who stopped first. She had been flying a bit ahead of the rest of the group, keeping up with Gabumon. a moment later, Gabumon felt it too, and also skidded to a stop. They were close enough to the battle to hear the explosions and make out Zhuquiamon, and several smaller figures; Jeri, with a relieved cry, spotted Karatenmon first, seconds before Gabumon and Lillymon sensed something was terribly wrong.

At once, something massive and wrapped in black miasma rose up, seeming to grab the massive Zhuquiamon by the throat, and pull it down from the sky. There was a sharp roar of thunder, then the massive phoenix digimon vanished, data pulled into the attacker.

Guilmon watched this, silent, nose twitching. Then...

"Impmon?"

--

Next Episode -Rage, vengeance and tragedy.

Digicross Tamers 28: Megidramon 


	29. Megidramon

It was good, Reilly reflected, to get out of the office. Even if it was just to investigate another monster sighting. Beside her, the small blue and black pokemon, Rukario, sat quietly in the passenger seat of the car they were in, eyes oddly focussed. "Are you alright?"

Rukario glanced at Reilly. "Hm? Yes, I am. I merely saw some odd currents coming from the building we are approaching."

"Saint Ignatius Academy," Reilly answered. "It's a school primarily for foreign students, like Alice."

"She is Dobermon's human...partner, it is called?"

Reilly nodded. "The school's been evacuated, except for Alice; she's going to be meeting us near the entrance." Reilly sounded a bit relieved. She liked working with Alice; she was much more level headed and, well, intelligent, than Kazu. Kenta was okay, too, but explaining things to his family was getting a bit tiresome. She noticed that Rukario had frozen, eyes locked on something. "What is it?"

Rukario looked back, eyes almost completely whited out. "You can't see it," he asked. Reilly shook her head. Motioning for her to pull the car they were in over, he took Reilly's hand.

The Hypnos agent gasped as her perception changed. Colours vanished, shapes became abstacted. "Is this...is this how you see the world?" She could feel Rukario nodding. What Reilly was seeing were...waves of energy, passing from one creature or object to another; looking at Rukario, she saw several lines of energy going between her and the pokemon. He indicated the school they were now near. Looking at it, she saw a long tendril of energy coming from the top floor of the school.

"All of the digimon I have seen here have that ewnergy wave coming out of them, leading somewhere...else. Even those that have human partners, save for those that came from my world."

"You mean Kotemon, Houndour, and yourself."

Rukario nodded. "But just now, that wave...fluctuated, as if something disturbed the source of the wave, and its effects were being transmitted to all beings connected to it."

-  
Digicross Tamers Episode 28 'Megidramon'  
-

Digital World

Jeri, perched on Grapleomon's shoulder, stared ahead at the looming black-garbed figure. If it had noticed them approaching, it hadn't done anything about it. "That can't be..."

"Impmon!" War Growlmon insisted. "But stronger now. I can smell it!"

"I can't, but I believe it." Takato didn't bother hiding the fact he was scared; everyone there was. Even Rapidmon, carrying Henry along with him, was oddly silent. Lillymon and Guardromon were left behind; despite the spoiled digimon's insistence, Grapleomon had argued that this was a serious battle and, at Jeri's suggestion, added that he'd never forgive himself if something happened to her. Guardromon's pledge to protect Lillymon had garnered a few laughs from the other tamers, but the humour had quickly vanished as they approached.

"Hitomi, Rika...we're coming."

Beside her, Grapleomon smiled. "Don't worry, Jeri. They'll be fine."

--

Fortunately for the tamers fighting Zhuquiamon, the digimon that used to be Impmon had stood stock still, hand still clutching the massive red guardian's long neck, slowly absorbing the data. "Foul mutant," Zhuquiamon cursed. "I shall...urrk!"

"Shut up," the digimon whispered.

The digimon regrouped near their tamers, not sure what to make of the new digimon. Karatenmon glanced at Taomon. "Any ideas?"

"I have never seen a digimon like this. Or felt one with this power." Taomon glanced at Yamaki, curled over, Ryo trying to keep him steady. "Was he hit?"

"No," Ryo answered. "He fell over as soon as...that appeared."

"Wrong...it's...wrong..." Yamaki groaned.

Taomon was about to ask Yamaki what he meant by that when she heard a loud clatter. Glancing over, she saw, to her shock, that Rika's D-Arc had fallen out of her hands, the girl staring at the digimon, eyes wide. "Rika?"

"B...Beelzemon," Rika whispered. "Type: Virus. Special Attacks: Death Slinger, Darkness Claw." She said something else, barely above a whisper.

Hitomi heard it first. "That's...That's impossible!"

"What?" Karatenmon leaned down, as did Taomon and Cyberdramon.

"Level...Mega," Rika repeated, more loudly.

Noctowl brushed Hitomi's leg, pointing off to the west. "The rest of the tamers," she said, a bit relieved.

"It won't be enough," Yamaki grimaced. 

--Tokyo

Reilly entered the school, Rukario keeping up easily with her. "You're pretty quick for a digimon that's only...not even a week old."

Rukario smiled. "I am much older than that, Reilly. What came out of that egg was my current form, not my initial one. And I am not a digimon, at least, not totally.

On the world I come from, the one that Hitomi, Eevee, Kotemon, and Houndour came from, there are a few special pokemon, with powers and abilities far beyond those of other pokemon. They have been worshipped as gods, hailed as heroes, feared as demons, and sought after by those with a lust for power. But through it all, there is one word that comes back to describe us over and over. Legendary."

Reilly slowed down, absorbing all this. "So, what are you, then," she asked wryly. "God or Devil?"

Rukario glanced back. "Shepherd and wave rider. Ah, our escorts have arrived." Reilly opened her mouth, then closed it as Alice and Dobermon rounded the corner. "Has our quarry moved?"

"Not yet Rena...no, you're not her." Dobermon looked at the pokemon a bit sheepishly.

"I should hope not," Rukario replied.

"Alice," Reilly asked, wondering when she had lost control of the situation.

"I think it's an ultimate level digimon, viral type. But I couldn't get an exact reading on it, it's too quick." A bit frustrated, her hand clenched the D-Arc. "It's on the top floor."

Dobermon looked around. "We should hurry. Something's wrong with this one. It doesn't feel like a digimon."

--Digital World

All the tamers had managed to reunite, only to watch as Beelzemon stood there, still slowly leaching data from Zhuquiamon's slowly fading body.

"Hit him," Rika said. "Everyone, at once."

"But...Ultimates are no match for a Mega digimon," Takato protested. "Right," he asked Hitomi.

"I don't know...It's possible, I guess, but I've never seen anything like this." Mom, dad, what do I do, Hitomi wondered.

Henry and Ryo glanced at each other, then nodded. "Rika's got the right idea. If he absorbs all of Zhuquiamon's data, he'll only get stronger."

"Shouldn't we try making friends with him first," Calumon wondered out loud. "He's still Impmon underneath all that, isn't he?"

"N...no," Yamaki said. "I can feel it...The Impmon we knew is gone. All that data from so many different digimon...it's starting to tear him apart."

--

"Wh...where am I?" Impmon looked around, lost in a sea of red chaos.

"You have achieved what few others have, Impmon. The Mega level of evolution. You now have the same power as that of the former guardians of this realm."

"That's it? Come on, bub, there's more!" The voice laughed quietly, savouring Impmon's restlessness. "Who are you? WHO?" Part of the chaos swirled together, forming a massive figure that Impmon thought looked familiar. 

"I am that which holds this world together. I slew the Eastern Guardian, and gained his power and purpose. Freed from my simple program, and the barrier that held me, I rose to bring order to this place. You, strongest of any digimon I have seen, can surpass me, if you have the power. And it lies before you."

"Tell me more..."

--

With a loud cry, Beelzemon hurled the broken guardian to the ground, absorbing the rest of Zhuquiamon's data in a moment. Then he turned to face the Tamers. "NOW!" Rika and Henry cried. All the digimon charged, calling up their strongest attacks.

Which splashed uselessly against a large glistening red wall. "Don't get too eager. There's something I need first. Here, play with this!" He flung a hand out; several silvery spheres shot out, each one aimed at the attacking digimon. Grapleomon, Wargrowlmon and Karatenmon evaded; the rest were all caught inside. "Yeah..." Beelzemon grinned. "I think...you first, toots." He clenched his fist; Taomon screamed in agony.

"Taomon!" Rika swiped one card, then a second, through her D-Arc.

"He's absorbing her data! Rika, alias card," Henry ordered. Nodding, Rika took out the appropriate card. This one worked, and Renamon appeared outside the small dome, the image of Taomon still inside. Besaide her, Terriermon appeared. Henry sighed, relieved. Then, he saw Cyberdramon simply burst out of the trap, fully enraged now. "Well...that works too."

"Impmon!" Cyberdramon surged forward, crashing into the barrier, clawing at it. "Drop this wall so I can tear the data from your core!"

"C...Cyberdramon?" Ryo gasped. Ryo had never seen his partner in such a state.

"Cute." Beelzemon dismissed the barrier, allowing Cyberdramon through. "Y'know, gecko-face," he drawled as he casually blocked Cyberdramon's frenzied swipes, "I was jealous of you for a while. You had the looks, the strength, I come back here, and you're a big, bad, Ultimate digimon."

"Rrr...ERASE CLAW!"

The attack left a small mark on Beelzemon's face mask. "Ow." The demon grabbed Cyberdramon, and threw him away, impacting against the barrier. "But the funny thing is, you're not what I need." The trap-domes, which had held Taomon and Rapidmon, vanished, a faint stream of energy flowing through the barrier and into Beelzemon. "Or them." He brutally slammed Cyberdramon to the ground, then -through- the barrier, Cyberdramon landing in an unconcious heap near Ryo.

Beelzemon grinned evilly, eyes fixed on his goal. "It's the creampuff."

"Calumon?" everyone gasped. "But...why," Takato asked.

"The voices in my head told me so," Beelzemon replied darkly. Hands flew around him, pulling out a pair of oversized handguns, sawed off shotguns, Takato guessed. "DEATH SLINGER!"

"You psychotic fiend! You won't lay a hand on Calumon! LION KILLING WAVE!"

"Calumon's our friend! ATOMIC BLASTER!" Grapleomon and War Growlmon's attacks barely managed to stop the blasts from Beelzemons' cannons.

"Renamon? Renamon!" Rika ran over to her partner, who had collapsed.

"Energy...he drained most of my strength..." Renamon groaned.

--Tokyo

"This way," Dobermon growled. "Whatever it is, it's close. And...wrong."

"How so," Alice asked.

"I don't know. Just...it's digital, but not a digimon, if that makes any sense. Around this corner. Alice, wait-"

"I don't. Do. Helpless maiden," Alice replied, voice menacingly low.

"Okay..." Dobermon led the way in, Alice following. Behind her, Reilly and Rukario, faintly amused by the byplay, followed Alice.

The room was a typical classroom, several rows of desks lined up in a flattened out horseshoe shape around the teacher's desk. All of them had been knocked over by something large, and a massive hole had been burned into the far wall, leading into the next room. "I don't smell smoke," Dobermon said quietly. "Or acid. But that wall has been clearly burned through." He indicated what looked like scorch marks around the edges of the hole.

"I don't hear anything," Reilly said. "It couldn't have left already, could it?"

"No," Rukario said. "It's close." Tensing suddenly, Rukario darted through the hole, followed by Dobermon.

"Wait!" Reilly and Alice followed.

--

Karatenmon landed in a heap, having only just blocked Beelzemon's latest attack. "As uncle TK once said, I say we run and then run some more."

"We do appear to be outclassed," Grapleomon admitted. Nearby, Cyberdramon had managed to pull himself up. Renamon and Terriermon were being tended to by Lillymon and Guardromon.

"Okay," Takato said. "We hit him with everything we got, then take off. DIGI-MODIFY! OFFENSE PLUG IN V, ACTIVATE!"

Jeri took out a card of her own. "Pride of the Warrior Race, Activate!"

"Shining Burn Slash, activate," Hitomi yelled.

"King Device, Activate!" Cyberdramon roared as Ryo's card took effect.

The results were monstrous; War Growlmon's Atomic Blasters struck Beelzemon only moments ahead of Grapleomon's Lion Killing Wave, which itself was followed up by Karatenmon's Crow Sword Carnival and Cyberdramon's Cyber Nail. And when the dust cleared...

Beelzemon looked down with feigned annoyance at the damage he had taken; some scars on his chest under a badly savaged black leather jacket. "My turn?" He vanished as he said that.

"A duplicate," Renamon gasped, just as the ground around her exploded upwards, throwing the humans and the digimon that hadn't attacked in all directions. A clawed hand shot up, Calumon securely held within.

"No!" Takato forced himself to get up as the remaining digimon ran over. "What do you want with him?"

"Creampuff? He's digivolution rolled up into a snack-sized package," Beelzemon taunted. "I take his data, I become the strongest."

"Don't," Jeri screamed, reaching for another card.

"Ah-ah," Beelzemon snapped. "No funny stuff, or it's fast food time." He grinned as everyone stepped back. "So, still think I'm no threat, fox-face?"

Renamon glared daggers back at him. "When I am finished with you..."

"Keep thinkin' that."

"QUICK ATTACK," Hitomi snapped. Karatenmon shot forward, almost a blur, sword aimed at Beelzemon's wrist, other hand out to snatch Calumon.

Beelzemon's other hand shot forward, catching Karatenmon in the stomach, then opening up, getting a firm grip on the digimon. "Nice try, Feathers. But I'll...hrrrgh...huh?"

"Karatenmon!" Jeri reached out, grabbing Hitomi and preventing her from running towards her partner. A few feet away, everyone else watched in mute horror. Except for Takato and War Growlmon, both...twitching oddly.

"What is this," Beelzemon demanded. "No DATA? What kind of freak are you?"

"Heh...the kind that'll kick your-"

"Shaddup," Beelzemon growled, hurling Karatenmon towards Hitomi and Jeri. Luckily, he had taken too much damage, and shrunk back down to Eevee, who was caught by Hitomi. "Cute. Now for-"

"RRRARRRRR!" With a wild shout, War Growlmon leaped, slashing with both of his arm blades. He crashed into the larger Beelzemon, forcing him back and scoring several blows. That...HURT, Beelzemon thought incredulously as the maddened War Growlmon continued his mad attack. "Hey, back off...AHH!...I said watch the PERSONAL SPACE, PINEAPPLE HEAD!" Furious, Beelzemon managed to force War Growlmon back. Was it him, or was War Growlmon getting...bigger?

"Takato, what-" Henry glanced at Takato, wondering what card he had used to power up his digimon so. He gasped as he saw Takato standing rooted to the spot, D-Arc clenched in his hand, knuckles white. Henry blinked again. Did the glass over the screen...crack?

--Tokyo

Alice and Reilly looked up. It was a monster, no doubt, but it was not like the digimon they had seen. It wasn't even humanoid, just a large reddish-orange blob that only vaguely looked humanoid. It shuffled around, as if looking for something. No coherent sound came from it, save only a muted, slightly tortured sound. It brushed alongside a desk; part of the desk just...vanished. It then enveloped a potted plant. When it moved again, the plant hung there for a second, a small amount of dirt around its roots; the pot had vanished. It fell over a moment later.

Reilly noted that. "Well?"

Alice glanced at her D-Arc. "Nothing. I don't think this is a digimon."

"What else could it be," Dobermon asked.

"More things in Heaven and Earth," Reilly remarked. "I'll contact Hypnos, we realy should get a-"

At the word 'Hypnos' the creature turned and started shuffling towards Reilly. "Or not...Alice!"

"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

"Dobermon, Matrix digivolve to...Black Were Garurumon!" The creature didn't seem interested in the digivolution, instead shuffling closer to Reilly. "Leave her alone! CRESCENT MOON KICK!" The energy slash leaped out, struck the creature...and did nothing, the attack seeming to disintegrate as it closed. "Alright...Kaiser NaiAAAAUGHHH!" The digimon staggered back as, on landing a strike, his hand was badly burned. Alice rushed over; sure enough, Black Were Garurumon's oversized hand looked like it had been dipped in acid. "I felt it...leaching my energy..."

"It must consume digital matter as well as inorganic." Reilly looked around. But it left the plant alone...and what had Yamaki said about hybrid digimon from Hitomi's home...? "Rukario, try an attack."

"Yes. STEEL PULSE!" Alice and Black Were Garurumon watched as the small blue and black pokemon leaped forward, hurling a small sphere of energy. It struck and, to Alice and Black Were Garurumon's surprise, seemed to do some damage. The pokemon followed it with a hard punch, then a kick, both forcing the creature back. Moaning in pain, the creature went tot he left, through another wall and towards the exterior.

At Alice's curious glance, Reilly explained. "It couldn't handle organic matter like the plant. I guessed that since Rukario is partly organic, the same way Hitomi's partner Eevee is, it might be immune to the creature's effects."

"Mr. Wong and Kotemon?"

Reilly nodded, already getting a cellphone out. "I hope Suzie doesn't find out."

--Digital World

"Takato? Takato!" Rika shook Takato's shoulder, to no effect; the boy, D-Arc still in a death's grip, stared intently at Beelzemon and War Growlmon. "Snap out of it, goggle-head!" She looked back at Henry. "What's with him?"

There was a shout; War Growlmon stepped back, torso armour showing several gouges, the blade on his left arm sheared off. Beelzemon held the hand holding Calumon away, other hand holding a handgun on the red digimon. "Okay, fine. Just back off, and I let the creampuff go."

Takato seemed to relax, as did War Growlmon; the others saw the normally cheerful digimon's body seem to shrink a bit. "Guys...," Takato whispered. "What happened, everything's-"

"SUCKERS!" With a shout, Beelzemon absorbed Calumon, the small white digimon screa,ming in terror as his data was drawn inside the mega's body. At the same time, the handgun swung around, and shot a massive bolt out at where Ryo, Hitomi, Jeri, Yamaki, Cyberdramon, Eevee, and Grapleomon were. There was a horrible pause, then the ground around those six exploded; seconds later, there was nothing save turned up rubble.

"uhhh...HITOMI!" Rika shoved past Henry, making a beeline for the crater; Renamon followed her.

"H...How could you?" Henry wheeled about, glaring at Beelzemon. "They weren't any threat to you!"

"Just clearing the board," Beelzemon remarked coldly, handgun tracking over to where Henry and Terriermon were.

"Jeri..." Takato whispered. His hand convulsed. Odd, there was something stabbing into his hand. And the sound of glass breaking...

Henry missed that, but he and Terriermon heard the awful howl that came from War Greymon; even Beelzemon stopped, staring incredulously at the other digimon. They watched as War Growlmon was consumed in a pillar of flame.

"Takato...?" Henry spun around, wondering what Takato was doing. He stopped as he saw blood coming out of Takato's hand, the shattered remains of his D-Arc at his feet.

--Tokyo

"Magnum Blade!" Dino Humon's massive sword swung down, cutting off another part of the giant red beast. "It's working, I think we're wearing it down!"

"Good," Janyu said. He held another card, feeling a little silly. "Offense PLug in V, activate!"

"SHADOW DANCE!" Dino Humon blurred, smaller swords delivering a hail of blows to the creature. It shook, more pieces of it falling off and disintegrating. It was now maybe a third of it's original size; oddly, it had shrunk with each blow, as if using parts of itself to maintain its vaguely humanoid appearance. "This is taking longer than expected."

"Well, we're the only two who can handle this thing right now," That is, Janyu thought wryly, if Kenta can keep Suzie from sneaking out. At least he wasn't letting Kazu lead him into more trouble.

"That's because Nami kept him after school again. Turns out that Zero punched a hole in the side of the gym during some sort of training exercise," Over the small headset radio, Reilly gave a slightly exasperated sigh. "And yes, you said that last part out loud."

"Janyu, it stopped," Dino Humon called. Sure enough, the creature had stopped suddenly, not even trying to attack. "It is just...standing there."

Janyu's cellphone rang; the call display showed that the call was from his home. Worried, he flipped open the phone. "Mr. Wong," Kenta's voice came over the phone, "something's wrong with Metal Agumon. He's just...frozen."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. He just said something like 'this is wrong', then just stopped moving. That thing you're taking care of didn't...?"

Janyu glanced at the creature. "No. It's doing the same thing. How is Houndour?"

"Fine. Suzie's worried though."

"Alright. Keep Suzie clear of Metal Agumon, tell her he's just sick or something. If anything changes, let me know, alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Wong." Janyu closed the phone. "Reilly, did you get that?"

"Same thing happened to Dobermon. Just keeps saying that something's wrong. And Rukario says that there's some sort of odd energy pulse coming from all the native digimon; that must be why Dino Humon, Houndour, and Rukario aren't affected. I'll bet that every digimon in the city's doing this."

"But what's wrong," Janyu wondered.

--Digital World

There was an ear splitting noise of metal being ripped apart. There was a foul smell in the air, brimstone, Henry guessed. He, Terriermon, and Beelzemon were all focussed on the column of flames that had consumed War Growlmon. They could all see something evil-looking inside, could hear pieces of metal shearing off and hitting the ground.

Rika didn't notice any of this; she had reached the crater made from Beelzemon's attack, and was now digging frantically. "Hitomi? Please, say you're alright..."

"Rika...Rika!" Renamon reached down and tried to drag her partner away. "There's-" she stopped as Rika gave her one of the angriest looks she had ever seen. Nodding, Renamon let her go, then knelt down to help. A second later, a rock shifted, and Grapleomon staggered to his feet, moaned, then de-evolved.

"Woah..." Gabumon moaned, staggering. Beside him, Cyberdramon stood up, battered but still ready to fight. Rika looked between them. In his hand, Ryo, arms tight around his father, held a Brave Shield card. Jeri was clutching a Drimogemon card, Hitomi held a Digmon card.

"Quick thinking," Renamon said, helping Jeri up.

"Thanks. We just reacted. I-" Jeri gasped as she saw the pillar of fire. "What's happening?"

"What-" Rika looked back, gasping as she saw what she had missed. Hitomi got to her hands, eyes widening as she saw the scrapes on Rika's hands. "Hitomi? You're-"

"We're okay."

"This...this is bad," Cyberdramon said, eyes fixed on the two combatants. "Both are unstable."

Ryo was about to ask how when the flames exploded outward, and a massive snakelike beast shot out, a whirlwind of claws and teeth, and grappled with Beelzemon. Around the two, the ground beneath them shook, coming apart as the chaotic energies comprising the two monsters tore apart everything.

--

"Shibumi," the guardian said.

"Yeah, I feel it," the man said. "But it can't be the enemy, could it?"

"Worse. It is...an ally."

Next Episode

Megidramon and Beelzemon's duel: a battle between two massive powers, with enough energy to destroy the digital world itself. And a duel that only one will survive.

Next time: Call of the Ancient Wolf. 


	30. Call of the Ancient Wolf

--Tokyo

Reilly watched as the Hypnos team finished collecting a sample of the creature. "No reaction at all," she observed.

"None. Kenta and Kazu's partners are acting the same way. Just standing still and saying that something's wrong." Janyu stared after the recovery truck as it pulled away. "I hope Henry's alright."

Standing a short distance away, Rukario glanced at Dobermon, frozen in place. He could see the energy patterns, detect the chaotic presence that had just appeared. Their world is dying, he didn't say.

-  
Digicross Tamers 29 'Call of the ancient wolf'  
--

--Digital World

Beelzemon had barely half a second to blink as the massive red and white serpent shot out of the flames, clawing and biting. "Rr...I don't think I like the new look, pineapple head," he gasped, one hand on this new attacker's massive upper jaw, the other fending off frenzied claw swipes with an increasingly battered handgun.

From where they stood, the humans and remaining digimon watched. "What is that thing," Rika asked.

Henry forced himself to look at his D-Arc. "Megidramon. Mega level virus digimon." He didn't bother listing the attacks; Megidramon didn't seem to willing to call them out. "That can't be...that can't be Guilmon's evolution, can it?" None of them could see how the cheerful, innocent Guilmon could have transformed into such a monstrous berserker.

'Monster' described it perfectly. It had no legs, only a long, snakelike tail. Leathery wings beat savagely as it tried to gain ground against Beelzemon. Muscled arms, axelike blades on the back of the forearms, drove hands with talon-tipped fingers into Beelzemon's jacket. Megidramon's head was a nightmare by itself, a terrifying caricature of Guilmon's features. Eyes almost dead white, a wild mane of short white hair, and teeth the size of short swords, light glinting off the razor sharp edges.

"Takato, how could you..." Jeri started, then gasped as she saw the tamer she was speaking to.

Takato seemed rooted to the spot; Lillymon and Guardromon were trying to move him, to no success. Jeri could see a faint red aura surrounding the boy, and then saw the wrecked D-arc at his feet, pieces slowly fading out of existance, almost in time to the savage Megidramon's strikes. "Come on, snap out of it!" Driven by a mixture of fear and anger, Lillymon tried to bring Takato around the direct way.

Jeri winced as Lillymon's hand struck Takato's face. Incredibly, it was Lillymon who yelped in agony, clutching her hand. "That...that was like slapping a Meramon. What's going on with him?"

"It happened when Beelzemon attacked the humans," Guardromon replied, having been able to see everything. "He attacked the female tamers," he indicated Jeri, Rika, and Hitomi, "who were protecting Ryo, Cyberdramon, and that other man. Then Takato's D-Arc broke, and Megidramon appeared."

Jeri gasped, suddenly understanding what had happened. The thought that she might, even in a small way, be responsible for what was happening now was almost too much to bear. She ran over to Takato, grabbing and shaking him. "Takato! Takato, snap out of it, we're alright!"

She heard Rika and Hitomi scream. Whirling around, she saw Megidramon rear back, jaws closed. Beelzemon was on the ground, roaring in agony.

"Wh...where's his arm," she asked, voice barely a whisper, not wanting to accept what she knew had happened. Ryo started to say something, but he, along with everone else save Takato, were thrown to the ground as a massive tremor ripped through the whole of the Digital World.

--

"What..."

"Shibumi, you'd better return," the guardian said. "They must know what happened, what will happen! All of our plans-"

"No," Shibumi replied. "There's still hope. And, if this doesn't work...well, I'll buy, what, a few weeks, tops?"

Two pairs of eyes blinked; the left pair nodded. "You are right."

"I hope I am. I-" Shibumi stopped, feeling it. "So, they sent the last one out. I guess even it's scared."

--Tokyo

"Massive computer disruptions reported worldwide," Talli told Reilly over her cellphone. "Even we're being hit here; we've isolated the networks but-" the signal cut out.

Reilly stared at the cellphone, the small 'searching for signal' screen cycling repeatedly. "Janyu?"

"Mine too," Janyu replied. "We have to get back to Hypnos."

--New Bark Town

Izzy worked furiously, tossing in a few epithets he had picked up over his lifetime as he struggled to maintain a signal lock on the other digital world. He forced himself to keep an eye on one of the screens, showing an increase in chaotic energies coming from the digital world. The digital world Hitomi and her friends were on was falling apart; that much was clear. Something had happened that had upset everything there; the balance was off, a D-Stone had bene destroyed, too many Mega Digimon flying around, something he couldn't easily figure out. Or solve.

--

"Let me GO!" Takeru and Veemon struggled against Sam Inoue, trying to get to the portal Izzy had been working on.

"You're not helping," Sam grunted, struggling to hold Takeru back.

"Please," Wormmon begged, "just let-"

"Then let us go," Veemon growled.

"So we CAN help," Takeru completed. Sam looked around desperately. Yohko could have taken Takeru down easily. But she and Kyoko were both gone, out of reach, chasing after Tsunemon, kidnapped by an unknown group. Ryoko and Hiroki were gone, on a completely different digital world. Asuka was on her way, as was the rest of the gang. With a final heave, Takeru knocked Sam back, as did Veemon with Wormmon. Both made a beeline for the door.

Something hard slammed into Takeru's gut, as did something else strike the back of Veemon's head. "Wh...why..." Takeru gasped, collapsing from the strike.

Kate Evanick looked down at Takeru, mixture of emotions crossing her face. She could make out her partner whisper a few words, Wizardmon's Magic Game putting both Takeru and Veemon to sleep. "You'd do it too, you...idiot."

"Thanks," Sam said as Kate looked up. "I didn't know he was that strong."

"Strong as an ox and as dumb," Wizardmon commented. "Just the way she likes it."

"Shut up," Kate growled. She looked again at Takeru, smiling a bit. "She's his little sister that he has to protect, as far as he's concerned."

"You know Takeru's hero fixation," Sam agreed. "So...how have you been?"

--Tamers Digital World

The battle continued, Megidramon now pressing his advantage over the critically wounded Beelzemon. Now shy an arm, the humanoid digimon had switched to powerful kicking attacks, mixed with swipes from his remaining clawed hand.

"We have to go! Come on," Ryo snapped, trying to drag Jeri away. "We can't do anything for him."

"I'm not leaving him," Jeri screamed as the earth around them roared.

"We're not," Yamaki started to say. He stopped as Jeri levelled one of the most hate-filled glares at him that he had ever seen.

"Dad, help move Takato," Ryo hissed. "Rika, hand here?"

"Huh? Sure," Rika said. Renamon, along with the other digimon, were already standing a good distance away from the fight; the ground where Megidramon and Beelzemon stood was shattering from the force of their blows, from the energies released. Both fighters had numerous gashes and cuts from the fight already. Shaken by the sight, Rika took Jeri by the hand and led her away, Ryo blocking her from going back to Takato.

Henry and Yamaki were trying to uproot Takato. "He's...stuck? But there's nothing holding him down," Yamaki grunted. Henry didn't reply, trying to push Takato over. It was like trying to shove a brick wall over. "But then...nothing about this place follows the rules we're used to, does it?"

Henry glanced at Yamaki, then nodded. "You know us kids...always breaking the rules." Behind him, the combat continued; Beelzemon was tiring quickly. Henry noticed Yamaki flinch as another blow was landed. "Mr. Yamaki..."

"Yes...every blow on Beelzemon. I felt it. At least I know what having my arm torn off feels like now." He shuddered as Henry looked at him with new respect. "Beelzemon...has to be stopped. But I wish...rrgh...this wasn't the way it had to be." He looked Henry in the eye. "Everything I did was either to avenge my son, or bring him back, once I learned the truth."

"And Hitomi," Henry asked acidly.

Yamaki didn't reply for a second, save to wince as Beelzemon suffered another blow. "Someday...maybe she'll forgive me." He groaned then pitched sideways; Beelzemon, guard slipping, had allowed Megidramon to get in too close, and had recieved a powerful bash from the dragon's left arm, axe blade biting into his torso.

"Dad," Ryo gasped, whirling around. "No...the damage Beelzemon's taking...dad's suffering it too."

"If Beelzemon dies..." Jeri looked at the blonde-haired man lying helpless on the ground, shaking as pain coursed through him. Megidramon, sensing an easy kill, closed slowly on Beelzemon, acidic venom dripping from his jaws. She broke out of Rika's grip, tore past Ryo, shoved Henry aside, and grabbed Takato. "Takato, STOP! PLEASE, STOP!" Her fists started hammering against Takato's chest. "Please," she repeated. "Stop it."

She felt something. A heartbeat? A breath?"

Takato blinked once, as if waking up. "...jeri? what's happening...?"

--

Shibumi swore furiously. Things were going horribly wrong, both he and his friend could feel it. "Don't try and stop me. I'll bring them back."

"I wouldn't dream if it," the massive digimon replied. "Be careful."

"Hey, it's my fault they're here, isn't it? This is the least I can do."

--

Beelzemon looked Megidramon right in the eyes as he closed for the kill. "So, this is how it ends," he muttered. "Taken down by a bread-sucking pineapple head. Figures."

Everything, he thought, everything I did...was to get out from under that jerk's thumb. All the power I went after, all the digimon whose data I took...all to get away from one human. Fox-face was right. I am pathetic. "Just one big joke in black leather!"

Megidramon reared back, jaws opened. "Yeah, COME ON. I hope I give ya a bad case of gas, red! DO IT!"

The head descended. Then, incredibly, stopped. Beelzemon saw Megidramon's eyes unfocus, the beginnings of a familiar growl/groan start. Walk away, a part of him said. He's distracted, get out of there!

No. Not while I've got one good arm. Beelzemon rolled to the right, where one of his discarded handguns lay. His remaining hand scooped it up, a round clicked into place, the barrel came up, around...

--

"Takato, you're back," Jeri whispered.

"Jeri...? What-" Takato suddenly pitched back, wrenched out of Jeri's arms. 

"Takato? TAKATO!" It was then that the dull thunder she had heard finally registered. She looked to where Megidramon and Beelzemon were fighting-

And saw the massive Megidramon falling backwards, ragged hole blown in the armoured chestplate. Beelzemon, one remaining arm holding a gun, faint wisps of smoke curling up from the barrel, watched as the serpentine digimon fell.

Rika, Hitomi, and Henry watched in mute horror, unable to say anything. Ryo, kneeling near his father, watched, trembling at the violence he had just seen.

"TAKATOOOOOO!"

--

Izzy leaned back, confused. "The disturbance has...stopped. Whatever was causing the Digital World to fall apart has..." he stopped as a new set of readings appeared. "No..." he gasped.

--

Back at Hypnos HQ, Reilly watched as Takato's parents were staring out a window. Rukario nudged her, motioning her over. "What is it?"

"Something's wrong," Rukario said quietly.

"I know, that's what all the-"

"No," Rukario insisted. "I can see thelinks of energy between tamers and their digimon, between digimon and the digital world...and between digimon tamers and their parents. One..."

Reilly stepped back, suddenly nauseous. "One...what?"

"One..." Rukario glanced at the Matsukis, Yoshie having just stiffened, then started weeping. "One...just vanished."

Reilly went numb. "Talli," she whispered. "Everyone to the monitor room. Now."

--Digital World

Jeri fell to her knees, utterly destroyed. Takato lay before her, seemingly...no. She wouldn't even allow the word to be used. Beside her, Henry, eyes red with tears, spun around, facing Beelzemon, who hadn't moved a muscle. 

Angrily, Henry strode over. "How could you," he demanded. "We stopped him, you didn't have to...you didn't have to..." 

A short distance away, Rika held Hitomi. "This...I never..."

"I know, Rika," Renamon whispered. "Takato...Takato lost control." Rika looked up at Renamon, unable to say anything. To her shock, Rika saw tears coming out of Renamon's eyes. Her eyes narrowed. "Rika. Don't look." "What-" Rika started to say, then stopped. Digimon fight. Winner takes the loser's data. That's how its always been, Rika told herself. She felt Renamon's arms encircling her and Hitomi, interposing herself between them and the inevitable conclusion to the fight. Henry screamed first, begging Beelzemon to stop; Terriermon joined him. Jeri shrieked as well; Renamon tensed as the noise cut through her. Wait, she realized. That noise wasn't...Ryo's voice came up, a ragged scream as well and...Yamaki's?

Renamon let go. Megidramon was slowly being absorbed into Beelzemon. That's the way it happens, Renamon reminded herself. Wait. There were two streams of data..."No," she gasped.

Jeri shook Takato frantically; his feet and lower legs had already disintegrated, being pulled into Beelzemon. "No, Takato, don't go. Don't go, please!"

"Stop it," Ryo screamed. "Wasn't Megidramon enough?"

Rage gripped Renamon. She leaped up, throwing all her energy into one last attack. "DIAMOND STORM!"

"Terrier Tornado!"

"ERASE CLAW!" Cyberdramon's blast tore past the other two incoming attacks, striking Beelzemon. The massive digimon shook a bit, but didn't react. Furious, Ryo pulled out a King Device, ready to use it.

Yamaki stopped him. "No, Ryo...please. I don't want to lose you like..."

"We haven't lost him yet," Ryo snarled. "King Device, Activate!" A massive sword appeared in Cyberdramon's hand. Screaming, the Ultimate level digimon flew forward, swinging the blade at Beelzemon. It shattered, the attack doing little more than nicking Beelzemon's jacket. "NO!"

Rika tore herself away from Hitomi, grabbed a rock, and charged at Beelzemon. Or tried to; Noctowl and Eevee blocked her. "Don't," Eevee said. "We'd lose you too."

"But-"

"Renamon's had it. We need," Eevee looked away. "We need to get out of here."

"But what about-" Rika's question was cut off by a long wail. Takato, along with Megidramon, were gone. The rock fell out of Rika's hand. "I never...I never wanted this to happen."

Gabumon, standing silently by Jeri, looked away. "Come on," he said quietly. He took Jeri's hand, trying to get the girl to move. Jeri just knelt there, by the spot Takato had just been in.

Henry staggered over to Beelzemon. "Why..." he whispered.

Henry looked up. Beelzemon had said something. Strange, he realized. He wasn't mad, or angry. Just numb. "Huh?"

"Help...me..." Beelzemon whispered. The explosion flung him and Terriermon away, along with most of the rest of the tamers, save Jeri and Gabumon.

--Tokyo

"It's crashing!" Talli was near panic, looking between readouts. "The whole digital world is crashing."

"What about a reboot?" Dolphin asked.

"That'd wipe the kids out too!" Babel snapped. "Tao, can you get anything through?"

"No! There's no connection, there's too much static in the link between our systems and the Digital World. What about the retrieval program?"

"It's not ready." Reilly swore bitterly, working at her own terminal.

From the doorway, Alice watched everything happening, feeling helpless. "Henry," she whispered. Beside her, Dobermon, who had recently come back to his senses, consoled her as best he could. Alice bent down, hugging the large dog tightly.

--Digital World

Henry, whole body sore, crawled over to where Ryo and Yamaki were. Terriermon, clinging to Henry's back, looked back at the massive storm forming where Beelzemon was. "'Help me'? What was that supposed to mean," the green and white digimon asked.

"What was that?" Yamaki glanced at Terriermon.

"Beelzemon," Henry gasped as Ryo helped him up. Cyberdramon, using a Taomon card, was keeping a translucent force wall up, preventing the worst of the storm from striking the other tamers. "He said 'help me' before he exploded."

"He didn't," Eevee said. "He's...regenerating?"

Everyone looked. With a sickening sound, like that of bones snapping, a new arm forced itself out of Beelzemon's shoulder, replacing the one Megidramon had bitten off. "That's..."

"That's my arm, as Rapidmon," Terriermon said. He didn't feel up to adding on something about Beelzemon's lack of originality. Maybe later, but not now. "And Taomon's sleeve?"

"All the data in him," Yamaki guessed. "Absorbing Takato's data must have upset the other data inside him."

"And Calumon's data...wait, Unown was inside Calumon, wasn't he?" Hitomi nodded. Henry groaned. "That means-"

"He's a bag of mixed nuts now," Terriermon hazarded. For a brief second, Henry almost killed Terriermon. Then it passed. "Thanks," he admitted. "I needed that."

"Where's Jeri?" Rika looked around.

"She didn't come over here?" Ryo looked past Cyberdramon. "She's still out there!" As he spoke, Beelzemon stood up. His new arm seemed to move around freely, then it shot out a firebolt. It tore the top off a nearby mountain. Cackling madly, Beelzemon started moving again.

Towards Jeri and Gabumon.

--

"Jeri, we have to go. He's coming this way!" Gabumon tugged at Jeri's arm, pleading with his partner. "I'm not strong enough to fight him."

"No."

"J...Jeri?" A fireblast shot by Gabumon and Jeri, tearing a furrow into the ground. "I'm not-"

"No. I can't...I won't let what happened to Takato happen to..." Jeri stopped, standing up. "But I can't let you fight alone."

Gabumon smiled. "I've never been alone. Come on. Let's finish what Takato started."

Jeri nodded, D-Arc clutched tightly in her hand. It shone, as she raised it up.

--

"Jeri, get away from there, you can't fight him!" Rika tried to get past Cyberdramon; Ryo and Yamaki held her back. 

Hitomi watched. "Eevee..."

"Yeah, I feel it too," Eevee replied. Jeri said something, which was lost over the din of explosions. Then she and Gabumon were swallowed up by a dome of light. When it cleared, there was a single, massive digimon standing there. Silver, metallic wolf's head glaring at Beelzemon. Two single edged blades were its only apparent weapons; Everyone was sure that the newcomer had more. "Is that...Gabumon?"

"Metal Garurumon," Ryo guessed. "No, this guy's bipedal..."

Hitomi glanced at her D-Arc. "Ancient Garurumon...mega level, Data type. Special attacks...Sharpness Claymores and Absolute Zero."

"Forget Metal Garurumon," Terriermon said. "Looks like Jeri figured it out."

"Get him," Rika whispered.

"Dad?"

"It's alright, Ryo," Yamaki answered. "The link...it's broken now. They can cut loose." He frowned. "I can feel something, but it's not as strong now." Ryo looked at his father worriedly, but nodded.

Ancient Garurumon roared once, then took off, flying right at Beelzemon. One of the massive swords swung out, loudly clanging on a metallic arm. With a snarl, Beelzemon leaped back, leathery wings and red and white tail ripping themselves free. Sensing his attacker's power level, Beelzemon took flight, trying to get a clear shot.

Ancient Garurumon jumped, other sword out, trailing streams of ice crystals. Moving faster than expected, the other sword whipped out and up, cutting into Beelzemon's wing, freezing it solid. The demonic digimon fell to the ground, wing shattering on impact. Another wing, red and feathery, grew to replace it. Calling on Zhuquiamon's power now, Beelzemon's remaining hand dropped the gun, and it twisted into a four-taloned claw, raking at Ancient Garurumon's metallic armour. The wolf warrior spun away, revealing several large gashes on his torso, ducked, and drove one of his blades into Beelzemon's upper leg. Roaring, Beelzemon's hands clenched together, and they dropped a massive hammer-blow on Ancient Garurumon's back. He fell, and his free arm swept Beelzemon's legs out from under the demon, dropping him to the ground as well. Both rolled away and came up several yards from each other. They circled each other, waiting for the other to make the next move.

"They're evenly matched," Renamon said, watching the two. Still maintaining the barrier, Cyberdramon agreed. "But where is Jeri?"

"Maybe she took cover somewhere else?" Ryo squinted where he had last seen Jeri, but couldn't find her.

"I don't think so," Eevee said. "Hey, remember those kids Ryoko and Hiroki are with right now?"

Henry looked at Eevee, confused, then realized where he was going. "Wait...you mean they...?"

"They what," Terriermon asked. "What, come on, someone tell me!"

Yamaki looked at the two, then nodded. "They...merged together. Of course, everything's data here. It would be like that...ahh, what did they call it?"

"DNA digivolving," Ryo said. "Really dad, I made you watch enough of that show." Yamaki smiled a bit, recalling happier times with his son. "Wait...Ryoko and Hiroki are here?"

"It's..." Hitomi started to say.

"Later," Lillymon said. "Look!"

Everyone looked skywards; Ancient Garurumon was, incredibly, gaining the upper hand in the fight; Beelzemon's tail had been cut off, and frozen pieces of wing were just now crashing to the ground. The two warriors showed no signs of stopping, or letting up; this time, it was Beelzemon who was making the wild, frenzied attacks against Ancient Garurumon's more focussed defenses.

Yamaki looked at Beelzemon. "I-" He stopped. "We have to stop them."

"Dad?" Ryo looked at his father.

"I think there's...no, I know I heard something else inside of Beelzemon!" The person that used to be Isao Akiyama struggled with the...non-scientificness of this revelation. Yamaki would have chalked it up to wishful thinking...

No, he decided. He knew what losing a son felt like. He would NOT wish it on the Matsukis, no matter what he felt about digimon. Any chance to get Takato back was worth it.

Beelzemon fired a massive salvo of fireballs; they missed the other Mega digimon, striking and exploding around the earth-bound tamers and digimon. "This is nuts," Lillymon cried. "Hey, where are you going?"

Hitomi glanced at Lillymon. "We have to stop them," she answered.

"But-" Rika started.

"Ryo...my uncle Ryo," Ryo blinked, then arched an eyebrow; Yamaki just nodded, "once, he was in the same position as Takato was, when he was only a little older than us. I won't let it happen again."

"But how," Henry demanded. "There's no way we can possibly go up against Beelzemon."

"And Ancient Garurumon," Renamon grimaced, indicating the silver-clad fighter; his attacks were starting to become more wild, the red chaotic energies being released more like those Megidramon did. "We may wind up fighting both of them." She looked right at Hitomi. "What do you propose we do?"

"What Jeri did," Eevee answered. "Come on." Hitomi followed her partner, Noctowl perched on her shoulder. The three started fading into the smoke cloud.

Once past that, the three were confronted by the sight of the two combatants. Both were moving at frightening speeds, releasing terrifying amounts of energy. Ice-filled craters marked the landscape. This close, the three witnesses could feel the power trying to rip loose. "We save Takato, Calumon, and go home. Right?" Eevee looked at Hitomi.

"Yes," she replied. "Jeri...hang on." She held up her D-Arc, repeating the words that she had barely heard Jeri say.

"MATRIX EVOLUTION!"

"EEVEE, EVOLVE! VALKYRIMON!"

--

Rika heard it clearly, watched as Hitomi, Eevee, and Noctowl combined, just as Jeri had. "Is that..."

"Henry,"

Henry nodded. "Yeah," he answered Terriermon, "we have to learn how to do that." 

Ryo glanced at Cyberdramon, wondering if he could ever do that. All those years, he thought, a bit jealously, and two girls beat me to it. Great, he told himself. I'm jealous and sexist. His father patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, as if to say yeah, me too.

--

The serpentine guardian watched the transformation. Those two would have to be dealt with first, it decided, before pulling back. It had much to plan

--

The white and gold-clad Valkyrimon shot upwards towards the battle. 'Inside', Hitomi marvelled at the feeling of flight, and knew that the part of Valkyrimon that was Noctowl was exulting in the first chance ever to share how flying really felt. They shared no words, instead just knowing what the other parts of Valkyrimon were thinking. And Hitomi could see...

She could see Jeri inside of Ancient Garurumon, still wracked with grief, funneling that into Ancient Garurumon's attacks. See Gabumon's fury over the senseless loss of two decent beings. And she could see how the two were slowly losing themselves in the same way Takato and Guilmon must have..."Jeri, stop!"

Ancient Garurumon didn't recognize the voice; a frost-rimmed claymore swung out, parried by Valkyrimon's own silvery blade. A savage kick forced Beelzemon away, freeing the massive wolf digimon's other hand to hurl a blast of ice at Valkyrimon. This too was parried, but it left Valkyrimon open for a flame blast from Beelzemon.

Valkyrimon's scream of pain penetrated Ancient Garurumon's mental fog. "H...Hitomi...," Gabumon and Jeri's voice asked. The digimon's eyes went wide. "No!" Ancient Garurumon flew down, catching the falling Valkyrimon. "Hitomi, how...?"

"The same way you did," Valkyrimon replied. "I think...we think we know how to stop Beelzemon. But we have to get him on the ground."

Ancient Garurumon nodded. The two flew up, circling Beelzemon. "ABSOLUTE ZERO!"

Valkyrimon drew a bow, nocked a pair of arrows. "Auvandaril's Arrow!"

The wall of ice struck Beelzemon, freezing him solid, leaving him hovering in midair for a second. The two arrows Valkyrimon fired shattered the ice and punched through Beelzemon's wings, dropping him to the ground and pinning him for a second. With a howl, Ancient Garurumon dropped down from the sky, his full weight striking Beelzemon in the chest. He howled in agony as the massive digimon rolled off. Unable to move, he struggle dfeebly as Valkyrimon hovered over him.

Valkyrimon, face unreadable, stared down at Beelzemon, then took a breath, arms crossed. Flinging them wide, Valkyrimon cried 'Heimdall's Summons!" A bird-shaped field of energy came out of Valkyrimon, and dove into Beelzemon. Beelzemon screamed again, glowed purple and crimson, and...vanished. Valkyrimon did, a second later, three trails of energy flying down. Seconds later, they resolved into Eevee, Noctowl, and Hitomi, who knelt down, sobbing.

Ancient Garurumon landed, glowed, and split back into Gabumon and Jeri, who ran over. On nearing Hitomi, she saw, to her amazement, Takato, Calumon, and...Unown. "Takato, she gasped. "Hitomi, you...what's wrong?"

"I...I couldn't find him," Hitomi answered, eyes red. "I went inside, but I couldn't find Guilmon!"

--

Next Episode -Drained and battered, the digidestined must deal with Azulongmon, driven mad by the mysterious force that has gripped the Digital World. But with Hitomi and Jeri too weak to fight, it falls to Henry and Rika to defend them and a near-comatose Takato.

Digicross Tamers 30: 'Burst Shot' 


	31. Burst Shot

--Tokyo

Janyu Wong looked a bit worriedly at the group of adults and children starting to advance on him. Well, except for one child, who was looking confused.

"What," Kazu asked. "I just wanted to know how they were getting back, that's all. What, you forgot to think of it or something?"

"..."

--

Digicross Tamers

-'Burst Shot'

--

--Digital World

Jeri cradled Takato's head. The boy, still unconcious after being pulled out of the insane Beelzemon, had only managed a few groans, and the ocassional, feeble, call for his partner, Guilmon.

Lost, for all the other Tamers there knew.

"Henry," Terriermon whispered. "Couldn't Takato, you know..." Terriermon, somewhat uncharacteristically, was a bit hesitant. "You know, couldn't he just re-create Guilmon when we get back?"

Henry looked at Terriermon, who flinched a bit. He wasn't upset, though. Henry had been thinking the same thing himself. "I don't think so, Terriermon. And even if he could, it wouldn't be the same Guilmon." He clamped his mouth shut as Jeri looked up, then looked back down at Takato.

What a mess, he thought to himself.

--

Outside, Ryo and Yamaki stared at two girls further down the way. "Dad, will...?"

"Yes," Yamaki replied. "we'll get home." He glanced at Cyberdramon a short distance away. Mentally, he recalled why he had wanted to destroy the digimon world. And, with a stab of guilt, had he succeeded, he would have killed his son, as well. "How have you been? It's been two years."

Ryo blinked at the sudden change. "Uh...well, dad. Cyberdramon and I...we survived." Yamaki arched an eyebrow, expression inviting Ryo to elaborate. "Well...Cyberdramon wasn't well when we came here. I had to stay with him so he wouldn't hurt anyone else. And then the whole business with the sovereign came up."

"So I heard." Yamaki frowned slightly. He knew he should be saying something more...fatherly.

Ryo didn't notice. "Most of the digimon here are really nice. Weird, but nice, as long as you leave them alone. It's mostly the higher-powered ones that start trouble. Cyberdramon...well, I think he's seeking them out. He's been looking for fights, and he's been getting more violent lately, especially as the Devas started running around. I've...I've had to do things..."

"So have I," Yamaki replied.

"Dad? Is this something to do with why everyone's calling you Yamaki?"

"Yeah. I thought you were dead, and I wanted revenge. I hunted digimon and experimented on them. And when I found out about the digital world, I..."

"Dad..."

Suddenly, Yamaki grabbed Ryo, squeezing him tightly. "Ryo," he half-sobbed. "I swear, I though you were dead. I didn't know."

Stunned, Ryo hugged his father back, not sure how to respond. After a minute he managed "Dad? For a start, could you lose those stupid sunglasses? You look like a bad impersonation of a government agent."

Yamaki released Ryo, looked stunned, then threw his head back and laughed.

--

"Well, that's new," Rika muttered, hearing their former nemesis laughing. Beside her, Hitomi nodded but said nothing. "Maybe next Kazu'll get a scholarship."

"Mmm."

Rika sighed, then stood up. "Alright, that's enough. Hitomi, stand up." Instantly, she did, looking a bit startled and terrified. Rika took her bu the shoulders, and looked her right in the eyes. "You did good," she said slowly. "You saved Calumon, Unown, Gogglehead, Jeri, and Gabumon."

"But I lost-"

"It wasn't your fault," Rika interrupted. "Hey, I thought that it was impossible to get digimon out once their data's been loaded. I thought it was impossible for a digimon to reach the Mega level. And I thought it was impossible for me to get even more ticked off at you than I was before, but you're succeeding wildly at that, too!" At Hitomi's stricken look, Rika mentally cursed. That hadn't come out the way she had intended. "I mean you keep beating yourself up over stuff that's not your fault. What, you think everyone's going to hate you unless you're always making yourself suffer? If you take the blame for everything that happens? Trust me, that's a lousy way to live."

"I-"

"Not. A. Word." Rika's glare froze Hitomi. "You were amazing out there. So quit selling yourself short. Or is that the sort of girl that Hiroki guy goes for?" Hitomi's face reddened. "Because that's pretty pathetic if-" Rika's arm shot up, catching Hitomi's clumsy, rage-fuelled swing. She glanced at the open palm, then at Hitomi, whose face was now bright, bright red, starting to stammer an apology.

"Good," was all that Rika said. "At least you have one button. And you didn't connect, so I'll let it pass. This time."

--

A short distance away, Eevee watched the two girls. "Wow. Didn't know she had it in her. No, wait, I did. I just never knew she'd be able to tap into it."

Beside him, Renamon nodded, watching Rika with well-hidden pride. "Rika can have that effect on people."

--Tokyo

A screen snapped on, and Izzy looked through the connection to see Janyu slowly being borne down upon by a large group of people. "Umm...the program and upgrades are finished loading, Janyu?"

Kazu looked up. "Huh, you look familiar," he said.

"Izzy, thank God," Janyu breathed, missing Kenta's frantic 'no, DON'T' motions.

"'Izzy'," Kazu said. "Wow, and people think I'm a digimon nut."

"You," Kenta deadpanned.

"Well, I did teach Takato everything he knows."

"Bet that took five minutes," Metal Agumon snickered. Zero joined him in a small laugh, stopping as Kazu's glare settled on him.

From where she sat, Reilly groaned. "This will not end well," Rukario sighed.

"For who," Reilly asked rhetorically.

"You can get my baby back," Takato's mother half-shrieked.

"Yeah, we can..." Izzy glanced at Janyu. "Should I call back later?"

"NO," several people chorused.

Satoshi Kato glared at Izzy. "Sir, my daughter and several of her friends are currently in a place called the digital world, and we have no way of contacting them. I would appreciate some answers. Now. And..." Satoshi stared at Izzy. "You look familiar...have we met?"

"Ahh..." Izzy replied. "Well, you see.."

"Hey, Izzy," Davis called. "Kari wants to know how long it'll take to finish repairs to the gate!"

"Davis, NOT NOW," Izzy thundered.

Everyone in Tokyo blinked, confused. Then, a miracle happened.

A neuron clicked. A microscopic current of electricity hopped between brain cells. Memories replayed themselves, made connections, and came up with the only inevitable answer.

In other words, Kazu suddenly clued in. He cackled, then fainted.

"Will you STOP DOING THAT!" Kenta knelt down and tried to revive Kazu.

"I think he figured it out," Kotemon whispered to Janyu, who was himself relieved to not be the centre of attention.

--Digital World

Gabumon frowned up at the sky, searching. "Lose something?" Lillymon asked, hovering over. "Because I'm more than wiling to help." No response. "These cute eyes aren't just for show you know. You could try looking into them once in a while." Still nothing. "Gabumon!"

Gabumon whirled around. "Lillymon! I...I was distracted."

"I'm the only distraction here, pal!"

"Yes, I..." Gabumon stopped. "You shouldn't be here," he whispered.

"WHAT? If this is some macho garbage, then you're in for a world of hurt-"

"There's one Sovereign left!" Gabumon's eyes burned into Lillymon, filling her with a bit of dread. "And Azulongmon might be the mightiest of them all. And the only ones who can oppose them..." His gaze drifted over to where Hitomi was, then to the cave where Jeri still tended to Takato.

Lillymon calmed down. "Hey," she said quietly. Then, switching moods abruptly, she threw her arms around Gabumon. "You beat the tar out of Orochimon, and, well, I suppose that girl is kinda useful. So I know you'll do fine against that overgrown cloud lizard."

Gabumon, mentally, gave up. "'That girl', as you call her, is the one who saved my life and, by extension, yours. So I expect you to treat Jeri with some more respect."

"All right," Lillymon pouted. "But I'm still cuter!"

--

Guardromon trudged back into the cavern. "Nothing so far," he whispered to Henry, who nodded. He then went over to Jeri. "Is there anything I can do? I've treated some digimon in the past, so maybe-"

"No," Jeri said quietly.

"I see," Guardromon said, a bit sadly. "I'll...hmm?"

Something in Guardromon's tone cut through the girl's misery. "What is it?"

"Odd. There is an odd energy in Takato's arm. I don't recognize it." Curious, Jeri leaned over, finger barely brushing the arm Guardromon indicated.

--Tokyo

"So...Hitomi came from a television?"

Kenta sighed, and tried rephrasing his answer. "No. Look, Metal Agumon, you know how you came from the digital world, right?"

"Oh, so she's realy a digimon!"

"No, no...rrr..."

Kenta's parents, all too aware of Kenta's crush on Hitomi, leaned closer, also curious. "So, she's an alien," his father asked.

"No...look, just listen, alright? You know how I watch that show, Digimon, on TV? Well, there's a world in an alternate dimension that's almost identical to the digimon world on TV."

"Kenta..." His mother looked a bit concerned. "I'm sorry but, even with everything that's happened, that is a bit hard to believe."

"It's true," Reilly stated, walking over. "I can't really go into the details of how it occurred, but Hitomi was really brought over from an alternate world that, until recently, had no connection with this reality."

"This is sounding like a bad saturday morning cartoon," Kenta's dad sighed. "All we need is a giant robot."

"I'm metal," Metal Agumon said. "And WAY badder than any dumb robot."

"Not badder than me," Zero called.

"You're not a robot," Metal Agumon replied. "But I'm still baddest of the bunch!"

"You're certainly a bad influence on my son."

"I'm just trying to toughen him up!"

On the screen, a digital bird watched the knot of physical beings argue over proper parenting techniques. "Porygon?"

--Digital World

The scream of pain brought everyone running. Gabumon and Lillymon, the last ones in, saw Takato wincing, left arm tucked against the side of his body. "What happened?"

Jeri, tears streaming down her face, looked around. "I don't know," she half shrieked. "I just touched his arm and...and he screamed..."

Yamaki strode over, checking Takato for any sign of injury. "I don't see any sign of a break in the arm. How hard did you press down?"

"I barely touched it, I swear!"

Yamaki glanced at Henry, who nodded. "It's..."

"What," Rika asked.

"It's the same arm Megidramon bit off of Beelzemon." Henry looked grim. "I wish I knew what it meant."

"Can we move him," Ryo asked. "I mean, if there's still Azulongmon left-" Jeri gasped, having completely forgotten about Azulongmon.

"What's happening?" Calumon got up, blinking his large eyes a few times. "I...oh, Unown," he looked at his friend, resting on the ground beside him. "I haven't seen you in a while.

"Umm...where's Guilmon?"

--Tokyo

"We're sending a duck," Kazu, finally recovered, asked flatly.

"Yes."

"A digital duck. And not a very convincing one."

"Porygon!" The image on the screen managed to look somewhat offended.

"He's got a point, doc," Metal Agumon added.

Janyu sighed. "Porygon is a computer generated...pokemon, I think it's called." Nami nodded, willing him to continue. "Anyway, it's able to convert itself to different environments, and it should be able to make it to the digital world and transport everyone back safely."

"It's a bit small, doc," Metal Agumon argued.

"It can be expanded by increasing the memory parameter." The room shook. "Now what," Janyu grumbled.

Talli looked up from the console she was sitting at. "There's a group of digimon that just appeared...no, the scan matches that red substance we've encountered before!"

"Where," Reilly demanded.

"Two blocks from here, and closing!"

Kenta was out the door before anyone knew. Kazu followed seconds later.

--Digital World

Guilmon's death was carefully related to Calumon by Henry. Everyone else watched, wondering how the little digimon would react to the news. "But...he's not coming back?"

"No," Henry said grimly.

"But...how come I can still hear him? Right over there?"

Henry glanced in the direction Calumon pointed. "That's just Takato. You'd better leave him alone, he was hurt during the last battle."

"But..."

"Drop it," Rika suddenly snapped. Calumon looked terrified, making Rika feel even worse. "Just forget it," she mumbled, stepping outside.

"Don't worry," Ryo said, a bit awkwardly. "She's not mad. We all..."

"Just miss Guilmon," Hitomi completed. Sadly, Calumon nodded. "We should go home. Alright?" Calumon nodded, a bit of his cheer restored.

Yamaki beckoned Henry and Ryo over, while Hitomi continued to talk with Calumon, and Jeri tended to Takato. "There's still one Sovereign to deal with. And there's someone else here, too."

"What," Henry gasped.

"Shibumi, alias Goro Mizuno, is here as well. I think. His presence here isn't as solid as ours is."

"He was one of the people my dad worked with," Henry confirmed.

"Wait," Ryo cut in. "Your dad helped create digimon?" Henry shrugged. "Does he give autographs?"

"Ryo," Yamaki admonished, then shook his head. "It's been almost three years since I've said that. Anyway, I...wait, weren't there four sovereigns?"

"No, Ebonwumon stayed clear, I think. At the very least, no one's heard of him, and the Devas that didn't go over all swore loyalty to him," Ryo explained.

Gabumon glanced at Yamaki. "He is. No one knows why the other three went evil, or how Ebonwumon escaped it. Or even if he did, and is just biding his time."

Yamaki nodded. "I say we make a break for it, then, and come back later. Takato's out, and I don't think Jeri will be able to fight again for a while. And..." He trailed off. After all the things I did to her, Yamaki thought, why should Hitomi Motomiya offer to help me. I certainly don't have the right to ask her.

The ground shook, and they all heard a call outside. "That was one of Taomon's attacks," Eevee snarled. "Come on, we have to help them!"

--

Rika glared daggers at the massive blue dragon flew lazy circles around Taomon's attacks. "Digi-modify! War Greymon's Terra Force activate!"

"TERRA FORCE!" Taomon shouted, hurling a massive sphere of energy at Azulongmon, which was dismised with a flick of his tail. Taomon felt more than a little frustration, and could sense Rika's similar emotion. There was a roar off to her left; Cyberdramon shot by her, making a crazed dive at Azulongmon, managing to evade his defenses and rake his claws along the massive faceplate covering the eyes and nose of the draconic guardian. Snarling, Azulongmon's chains whipped out and caught Cyberdramon, slamming him against Azulongmon's body and hurling him to the ground.

Rapidmon flew up beside Taomon. "So, the big snake himself showed up, huh? I thought he'd be bigger."

Taomon grunted as she dodged a lance of energy. "You would be wise to-" she paused as she hurled a Thousand Spell attack, which impacted uselessly against the clouds following the massive dragon. "-talk less and attack more!" She felt the energy from another card flow into her, as did Rapidmon. She produced Zanbamon's blades and charged. Rapidmon called up Metal Garurumon's Metal Wolf Claw and started shooting.

On the ground, Yamaki watched the two Ultimate digimon battling Azulongmon. "He's toying with them," he whispered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hitomi help Jeri get Takato clear of the cave and behind some rocks; it was less cover, but the cave was too obvious a target. Then he heard Hitomi get up and say 'Matrix Evolution'...

Eyes wide, he turned to stop her, and watched as an energy blast vaporized the ground just in front of the cover. Hitomi, Jeri, and Takato were sent flying, all knocked out.

"Hitomi," Rika yelled.

Up in the sky, Azulongmon rumbled pleasure. "Yess...with your two strongest teams taken out, destroying you should be easy."

"You won't find us that easy to take out," Rapidmon challenged him. "Tri-Beam!"

"Useless." Azulongmon snorted as he allowed the beam to strike his face-mask.

"What about this? TALISMAN OF LIGHT!" Taomon's strongest attack shot out, slamming full force into Azulongmon's helm, backed by Rika's Offense Plug-in card. There was a cracking noise, and a large fissure appeared on the metallic mask, which split apart and fell to the ground, disintegrating as it landed.

"Still think we're useless?"

"No, Rapidmon. I think you're FINISHED!" Azulongmon's true face, resembling a chinese dragon's, turned blood red, crackling with unleashed energy. With a howl, he unleashed a torrent of red disintegrating force at Rika and Henry. Hitomi recovered just in time to see her friends vanish in a haze of red and white.

--Tokyo

Kazu and Kenta saw them. Digimon, mostly champion level. "Not a problem," Metal Agumon said.

"There's 20 of them," Kenta reminded him. "We should probably have waited for-"

"HEY, APEMON! THAT A BOOMERANG OR A BANANA?"

"Never mind," Kenta sighed as the small army of digimon turned, saw Metal Agumon jumping up and down, and charged.

"Yeah, come on, ya oversized bloodhound, I'll fix you good!" Metal Agumon spit a ball of electricity straight up, followed it up, and spiked it down at the leading Apemon. It staggered him, just enough for the rest of the group to catch up. "Okay, do it."

"What," Kenta asked.

"Do that digivolve thing you're always talking about. I wanna lay some smack down on these punks."

"Oh, right! Card, card, card…" Frantically, Kenta searched his pockets for an evolution card.

"Kenta." Metal Agumon looked at Kenta, then Kazu, then the oncoming horde of angry digimon. "What if I asked really nicely? I thought this was at least partly you."

"I'm LOOKING!" He screamed as his arm twitched, sending several cards flying out onto the street.

Kazu snorted. " Come on, Zero, let's do this! Digi-Modify! Digivolution, Activate!"

Zero nodded eagerly, watching as Kazu did the card swipe. "Veemon, digivolve to...VEEDRAMON!"

"Way to go, Zero!"

"WOO-HOO! V-Breath Arrow! V-Magnum Punch!" The newly evolved Champion went gleefully into the fray, sending Apemon flying.

The two humans watched, while Metal Agumon glowered at Zero. "Umm...wasn't there something about red glop?"

The building beside them collapsed.

--Digital World

Mask now removed, Azulongmon's attacks only increased in intensity. The first shot managed to knock Rapidmon out, hurling him to the ground; Henry picked up and carried an unconcious Terriermon clear of the crater, leaving Taomon and a barely-recovered Cyberdramon to fend off Azulongmon. Cyberdramon hurled a pair of lances, created from Ryo's Knight Device card. Taomon swung a Paladin Sword, trying desperately to keep the monster's attentioon on her and not the humans so far below.

Abruptly, Azulongmon pulled back, serpentine form twisting around. Taomon, horrified, recognized what was coming. "Rika!"

Somehow, Rika knew what Taomon wanted, and drew the right card. "Digi-modify! Brave Shield, activate!" Some distance away, she heard Ryo using the same card.

Above, Taomon tensed as the shield formed in her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cyberdramon's shield form, only to have it thrown at Azulongmon, then semi-berserk digimon floowing it. "Cyberdramon, no, he's-"

"AURORA THUNDER!"

--Tokyo

Zero, still in his champion form of Veedramon, muscled his way out of the rubble. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah," Kazu moaned. "Kenta?" He looked to his left; Metal Agumon had managed to protect Kenta from the rubble, his own armoured hide deflecting the worst of the rubble. Both were knocked out, though. "Zero, let's take this oversized pile of warm jello out."

"Yeah," Zero agreed, hefting up a piece of fallen masonry. "Catch, ugly!" The piece of debris flew at the red mass, was absorbed, and vanished. "Huh, good catch. V-Breath Arrow!"

Kazu groaned as that attack had little apparent effect. "Wait, the grownups said that it didn't work on organic matter. We just need something living to throw at it, that ought to work!"

"Like you?"

Kazu glared at Zero. "Not. Funny." He flinched as two more creatures shot by. Dino Humon and Rukario waded in, their attacks apparently having some effect on the monster, forcing it back. "Great."

"Are you two alright," Reilly asked. "Because you won't be when your parents get here. Now stay back-" She was cut off as two more red blobs appeared and grabbed both of the adults, allowing the main blob to push back against the now-distracted attackers. There was a howl; instinctively, Zero had reached for Janyu, the closer of the two adults, and had been burned on coming into contact with the red mass. The larger mass was now focussed on the two attacking creatures, making sure that they couldn't move back to assist the humans.

"Let them go." Metal Agumon levered himself up, shaking off bits of concrete and roofing material. Beside him, Kenta groaned quetly, coming to. "I said let them go, slimebag. Or do you have to hide behind someone else to fight? Huh, wuss? What about it?" He didn't flinch as parts of the mass hilding the two humans broke off, forming a third blob, which advanced on Metal Agumon.

"Metal Agumon? What are you...?"

"Just stay back, kid," the digimon said to Kenta. "I'm gonna lay some smack down on that walking dessert disaster."

"Don't forget about me," V-Dramon added, cracking his knuckles. "You'll need some backup, rookie."

"Bite me."

"That an invitation?" Kenta groaned slightly as Zero and Metal Agumon started bickering, apparently having forgotten about the attacking blob. It suddenly shifted into a more aggressive form, deploying what looked like some sort of cannon, firing crimson bullets.

"KAZU!" V-Dramon roared, covering his Tamer and grunting as several of the shots struck him, burning as if they were acid. Nearby, Metal Agumon yelped as Kenta bowled him over, a trail of red shooting just above him.

"Get out of here!" Janyu managed to free himself, and was now trying to help Reilly get clear of the crimson goo. "That material can degrade digital material! It'll destroy the digimon!"

"No..." Metal Agumon struggled to stand up, Kenta still a bit woozy from having struck his head. "I don't back down when my pal's in danger. Especially when he just saved my hide."

"Metal Agumon...?" Kenta wondered if he was hearing his partner correctly.

"Hey, let's show these geezers who's in charge! Yahhh!" Metal Agumon charged at one of the blobs, already readying an electric spitball.

"No!" Kenta tried to follow, but stumbled. He'll be killed...he...he...

No. Metal Agumon won't back down, and neither will I. "Well, it worked on TV," Kenta muttered. "And we need more power than a champion level can manage."

Kazu blinked. "Kenta?"

"DIGI-MODIFY! MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"

"Metal Agumon, Matrix digivolve to...Lasermon! Yeah, LET'S ROCK!"

--Digital World

Rika's last memory was of a giant ball of bluish-white energy swallowing up Taomon, then shooting straight at her. She couldn't see, then she realized that her eyes were closed, eyelids pressed together to keep out the blinding light. She opened them.

Renamon, barely awake, lay across her, only just now moving an arm, trying to push herself up. A short distance away, Terriermon and Lillymon were trying to help Henry sit up. And there was a small sun in front of her. With someone in white standing in front of it..."Hitomi!"

Valkyirimon strained to hold off the massive bolt of energy. "Rika..." Hitomi's voice said. "Get out of here..." With a loud cry, she managed to shatter the attack, draw her sword, and fly up, right at Azulongmon. She looked around; Jeri, Gabumon, and Takato were a short distance away, both knocked out and slightly beaten up. Guardromon was half-buried in the side of the small hill where the cave had been. And Hitomi...

Valkyriemon was almost invisible, a small white speck flying madly around the massive dragon. Every now and then, a small golden arrow shot out, striking Azulongmon. She was doing well, until...

Rika gasped as one of the clouds suddenly flew out and smothered Valkyriemon. Disoriented, she wasn't able to dodge the long, whiplike tail that shot out and wrapped around Valkyrimon's body.

Crushing Hitomi.

"No..."

"Rika, we have to help her!" Henry clutched his D-Arc.

"Yeah! I'm not gonna let some oversized garden snake smack me and my friends around!" Terriermon, for all the damage he had taken, still looked ready to get up and keep fighting. "Okay, just get me back to Rapidmon and I'll go save Hitomi!"

"No, our Ultimate forms will not be enough." Renamon looked at Rika. "We have to try."

Rika swallowed her objections, remembering her own words to Hitomi only minutes before this had all started. Her trademark confidence returned. "Let's show them how it's really done. Come on, Renamon."

"Yeah, let's walk all over them!" Terriermon grinned as the other three stared at him. "Sorry. What, you're the only one that can say it?"

"Yes," Renamon said quietly. "She is."

Rika nodded. "Matrix Evolution." she and Henry both said.

"Renamon, evolve...Sakuyamon!"

"Terriermon, evolve...Saint Gargomon!"

As Sakuyamon shot past the massive green digimon only just now starting to move, Rika, her mind inside Sakuyamon, could only think one thing.

"Gee, Henry. Overcompensating for something?"

"Well, I...HEY!"

Inside Saint Gargomon, Henry just shrugged. "Let it go. We've got a dragon to slay."

And, back on the ground, as he finally made his way over to where Jeri and Takato were, Ryo Akiyama looked up at the two digimon going to help the girl he'd fallen in love with.

He glanced back at his father, who was looking over a still unconcious Cyberdramon, then at the receding figures.

"What about me?"

---

To be continued!


	32. Battle Azulongmon

In the distance, the True Sovereign watched. Around the last of his servants, chaos reigned. He had sealed the power of digivolution. Separated the digimon, taking them out a few at a time. Turned their guardians against them. Stopped the last holdout's plan to block his plans. 

But digimon had escaped to the Real World.

And brought back the power of digivolution.

And laid his servants low. Even his most recent acquisition had been beaten, the fall of one of the partnered digimon only a minor victory to him.

"Chaos. This chaos is...unacceptable."

-  
Digimon tamers 31 'Battle Azulongmon'  
--

The two figures, one small, the other massive, looked down at the battered form of Impmon. "Well, he caused quite a mess, didn't he? Still, he was, in many ways, the prototype." The massive figure's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps..."

"No," the smaller figure replied. "I think there's still a role he can play. that is, if you're serious about-"

"I am. The problem is coded into this world, Goro Mizuno. You of all people should know that." Goro Mizuno, alias Shibumi, Monster Maker and semi-corporeal prisoner in this digital world, nodded sadly. "You could not have known, my friend."

"But this fate we created for you-"

"We created this fate together. But two things are certain. You and the digimon who have partners must flee this world with the Catalyst. And..." The massive figure's voice caught, even with the full knowledge of what had to be done.

"And this world must die."

-

Snarling, Sakuyamon brought her staff down on Azulongmon's tail, forcing it open and allowing Valkyrimon to get clear. "You OK?"

"Yes!"

"Good! Now get clear, I...WE owe this beast." Energy built up, then lanced out, carving furrows in the dragon's back. Abruptly, she pulled back, not following up her attack.

Mainly because Saint Gargomon had that honour, flying up and behind Azulongmon, weapon ports opening and launching rockets and missiles at Azulongmon's injured back. The dragon roared in agony as the attack struck. He shot forward, twisting around and trying to bring his wickedly fanged mouth to bear against Saint Gargomon. He winced again as Ancient Garurumon shot past, blades slicing into Azulongmon's neck. Reddish-black miasma seeped out of the suddenly frost-encrusted wound, sending a fresh wave of pain through the massive dragon's body.

"Jeri!" Valkyrimon flew over to Ancient Garurumon.

"Hey," Jeri's voice said, at odds with the menacing figure of the mega level ice digimon. Ancient Garurumon glanced at Azulongmon. "For Guilmon and Takato," she whispered, flying at the dragon.

Drawing her sword, Valkyrimon nodded, following. The two struck opposite sides of Azulongmon's serpentine body, blades cutting deeply into the guardian's corrupted body. Roaring, Azulongmon twisted around, forcing the two back; this left him open for a counter from Saint Gargomon, two giant missiles slamming into him, scarring the beast and putting one of his eyes out.

From the ground, Isao Akiyama grimaced a bit, watching the battle. "We created this place, and this situation. Now we're sending children to fight off our mistakes," he whispered. Ryo, staring up at Valkyrimon as she danced around several energy blasts, didn't hear him.

Cyberdramon stirred, pushing himself up. "Azulongmon..." he groaned.

"Seems to be well in hand," Ryo's father remarked. "Rest. You're not strong enough-"

"What?" Cyberdramon growled, turning on the former Hypnos commander. A bright blue energy leash from Ryo's D-arc stopped his next words.

"Don't threaten my father," Ryo growled.

"Ryo," Isao said. For a second, nothing happened. With a sudden shock of fear, Isao saw how the Tamers must have seen him when he was leading Hypnos; barely controlled rage and a need to control, regardless of the consequences. "Ryo, let Cyberdramon go."

Ryo looked up, startled. "But he-"

"No. Ryo, you're going to a place I was at not too long ago. What I did...Don't follow my example, Ryo. Now let. Cyberdramon. Go." Reluctantly, the energy leash vanished. He glared at Cyberdramon. "You put me through a nightmare for two years, Cyberdramon, you and that Impmon you dragged along." He didn't flinch as Cyberdramon growled at him, ignoring Ryo's sudden terrified look. "I hunted digimon, did things to them that would make you scream, Cyberdramon. And what I did to Hitomi Motomiya...I won't blame you for what I did. I will blame you for what you let me become. I will blame you for not helping Ryo to come home. For not letting me know he was alright. And if you ever cause my son to suffer again, to drive him to become like I was when I called myself Yamaki, I will find you and I will destroy you."

Human and digimon stared at each other. Cyberdramon flinched first.

--Tokyo

Kazu came to, thoughts about the condition of his partner second in his mind. The first thing that came into his head was the question of when the army had started deploying tanks that looked like Monochromon with tank treads.

Oh, he thought, that's right. Kenta evolved him. No, Matrix evolved him...This led Kazu to the horrific realization that Kenta had managed to evolve his partner to the Ultimate level before he had. And he knew darn well that Aero V-Dramon Zero would have mopped the floor with these losers. "That is so unfair."

"Speak for yourself," V-dramon said, elbowing some debris out of his way. "I could use a bit of help right now. As long as he doesn't slip a tread or nothin'." Lasermon swiveled around, blew a raspberry at the blue and white digimon, then returned his focus to the oncoming red glop.

Kenta, still a bit stunned at being the proud owner of a heavily armoured and armed Ultimate level digimon, checked his partner's data with his D-Arc. "Okay, Lasermon...Ultimate level, cool, special attacks include Razor Horn, Gatling Cannon and Armageddon Cannon."

"So? You want I should take 'em down all personal like, or just hose 'em from here?" Lasermon grinned, feeling a rush of power.

"We're in downtown Tokyo, and those things can melt digimon. I think we need a gentler touch...?" Kenta looked around; Reilly and Janyu were just starting to recover, the red ooze having retreated once the building had collapsed. He spotted the faint glow of a force field that Rukario had thrown up, now dying away, allowing the pokemon to join the battle. Neither he nor Kotemon did, however. Both wanted to see what Lasermon was capable of.

"Aww, come on, Kenta! I can cut loose and...Oh, right. Collateral damage."

"You remember my speech, oh good. Try that Gatling cannon thing. Just keep it short range, okay?"

"You're the boss," Lasermon answered, cannon on his back humming as he fired a barrage of energy blasts with spectaularly unimpressive results. The blob grumbled, then advanced. "Okay, plan 2?"

--Digital World

Ages ago, as digimon measure time, Azulongmon had been regarded as one of the wisest of the Sovereign Digimon, and one of the most elegant, his slow, sure movements and careful, considered words drawing respect from even the harshest of his detractors, few that there were.

Then the corruption had set in, so slow and insidious that even the dragon's eyes had missed it. The true tragedy was that, while Azulongmon's form and knowledge were kept, his spirit and personality were erased, leaving him little more than a puppet for the one that had been dubbed the 'True' Sovereign.

The puppet, however, still remembered rage. And that is what he felt as these interlopers, these -deviants- continued to harass him, to strike him, and to hurt him. And he wanted to hurt them back. His one good eye scanned the area, found three comparatively weak opponents on the ground.

His remaining muscles flexed suddenly, forcing Valkyrimon and Sakuyamon back. His head shot up, then down, hurling a bolt of lightning at the spot were Isao Akiyama was staring down Cyberdramon, Ryo only a few feet away.

From their hiding place, Lillymon, holding Calumon tightly, got up, starting to rush towards the trio; Guardromon was only just making his way to his feet. Neither was close enough. Isao and Ryo looked up at the oncoming blast. Isao's words burning in his mind, Cyberdramon spun around, took one look at Ryo, then flew.

Straight at the bolt.

There was a horrible blast, followed an instant later by an almost bestial yell of anguish. Everything stopped; the Tamers up fighting Azulongmon looked at the explosion, stunned. Azulongmon watched the aura from the blast dissipate, leaving a huge dust cloud.

And a battered, maimed Cyberdramon shooting right at him, remaining arm stretched out, shooting at Azulongmon's still-open maw. Yell trailing off, he managed to punch through Azulongmon's upper jaw, releasing a geyser of pent up energy.

From her vantage point, Hitomi watched with a strange sense of deja vu. Then she saw Cyberdramon falling, and rushed to try and help; Ancient Garurumon joined her. Saint Gargomon and Sakuyamon decided to finish off Azulongmon.

"BURST SHOT!"

"VAJRA MANDALA!"

What parts of Azulongmon weren't torn apart by the countless missiles that erupted from Saint Gargomon's body were vaporized by the mystical attack Sakuyamon called down. Ryo didn't see any of that, however, his eyes locked on the descending Valkyrimon. He ran over, unable to speak, pain clear from his expression, and stopped at Valkyrimon's feet as she he'd a small blue and black digiegg in her arms.

--Tokyo

Janyu helped Kazu up as the red blob advanced on them. Kazu winced as he put pressure on his foot. When had he hurt his ankle like that? Must have been when the building fell on him, he decided. There was more humming noises; Lasermon's Gatling Cannon was firing again, with even less result than before. If anything, the attack seemed to be making the blob stronger. And, judging from what Kenta was saying, his partner couldn't cut loose, either. "Hey, Zero, you still there?"

"Not getting rid of me that easily," V-Dramon grunted as he hurled another large chunk of masonry at the blob. How come we can't hurt that thing?"

"Rukario and Kotemon aren't fully digimon; they have some biological attributes," Janyu explained. At Kazu's blank look, he rephrased it. "This substance isn't able to absorb biological matter the way it can with...Lasermon's...attacks." Janyu regarded the armoured digimon a bit uneasily. "Kenta, pull back!"

"No," Lasermon suddenly snapped. "We can take this creep. Maybe we can overload it or something! I just need a clear shot."

Kenta was about to say something to his partner, but lost the train of thought. A plan came to him, but it would require careful timing on both their parts. "Lasermon, get ready!"

"Huh? But...Oh, I get it," Lasermon grinned. "Cover me!" Lasermon's treads spit asphalt, pulling back.

"I don't," Reilly sighed. "Rukario?"

"I think I know. Dino Humon, now! STEEL PULSE!"

The large warrior shrugged. "Magnum Blade!" The two attacks tore across the ground and slammed into the blob, injuring it. Dismissing Lasermon, the blob advanced on the two new attackers.

Kenta grabbed a card. "Digi-modify! Digmon activate!"

"Goin' LOW!" Lasermon shouted, his horn transforming into a powerful drill, allowing him to tunnel underground. Kenta watched as his partner vanished from sight, tracking his progress with his D-arc. When the arrow on his digivice lined up with the blob's location, he screamed 'NOW,' as loud as he could, and took out several more cards.

There was a muffled sound that no one could understand. Then a massive beam of energy erupted fro the ground, right where the blob was. It vanished from sight, completely enveloped in Lasermon's attack.

"Shouldn't that be feeding it?" Kazu looked at Janyu, a bit worried.

"He's trying to overload it," Reilly said, understanding his plan. Kenta didn't answer, using every recovery card he had in his deck in order to help Lasermon continue the attack. "If he can keep it up long enough...it'll either dissipate or the explosion will wipe out everything in a five block radius."

"Zero, we need some cover!" Kazu waved to a mostly intact slab of brick and mortar, which the muscular digimon picked up and held in front of the humans. Rukario leaped up on top of the wall, getting a small snarl from Zero as he tried to balance the wall with the new weight on it. For the pokemon's part, Rukario just knelt, eyes focused on the column of energy.

"Kenta, you can stop. It's gone," Rukario said after a few seconds.

Kenta collapsed, mentally drained. A minute later, an equally exhausted Metal Agumon clambered out of the hole he had melted through the road. "Dude, that totally rocked," the metallic digimon gasped, lying face down. "But I could use a nap now. And some food. Music. But definitely food. And a nap. Did I mention food?"

--Digital World

The group quietly made its way through the desert. On the one hand, the last fo the evil sovereigns (according to Gabumon's information) had been defeated. The northern guardian, if he was out there, had not chosen to show himself. they had Calumon back, and even managed to rescue Ryo's father.

But, now that the adrenaline rush of battle had faded, they also had to deal with two very significant losses. Isao led his son, who was still devastated by Cyberdramon's sacrifice, and still clutched his partner's digiegg. Everyone else had managed to tune out the faint hiss from Ryo's D-arc, the small window showing only static now.

Henry and Jeri tended to Takato, who still had yet to recover from Megidramon's death at Beelzemon's hands. Takato's 'bad' arm, which still caused him a great amount of pain if given the slightest touch, had been carefully bound to his side so it wouldn't move around too much.

Finally, it was Isao who spoke. "Do we have a plan to get home? I think...I think Takato needs more help that we can give him here."

Henry glanced at him. "Head back to the top level, and wait. Dad said that he had some sort of transit in mind, more reliable than those blue energy beams that we've been dodging."

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen any," Eevee said.

"Nor have I," Renamon agreed, though she sounded a bit distracted. Rika noted it, but decided to take it up with her later.

"Well, we need a lift, just say the word. Henry and I can carry everyone up as Saint Gargomon in one trip." Terriermon managed to look a little pleased with himself.

"Hmph. I still say one of you is overcompensating for something." Rika glanced at Terriermon.

A few feet ahead of them, Calumon sat on top of Unown, the two floating slowly ahead. "It's kind of weird, not being one anymore," the small digimon said. "I kind of miss it." Unown made an indescribable noise that sounded like agreement. "Yeah, it is like there's an empty spot in me now." Lowering his voice, he whispered "I wonder if that's why Takato won't wake up. Because he's got an empty spot in him now, where Guilmon used to be."

Unown warbled something. "Huh? It's not empty?"

--

"They're near. And they've suffered a great deal. Mizuno, they'll trust you more than me. Please, bring them here? There is much they must know, and I sense..."

The semi-spectral human glanced at last Sovereign. "What is it?"

"The D-Reaper. It's starting to move.

--

For the nth time, Terriermon fought down the urge to ask Henry if they were there yet. Even he knew that such questions might get him torn apart. "This isn't exactly how I pictured us coming back," he finally commented, a bit sadly. Henry nodded absently. "When we get back, I think I could use a nice long nap, Henry. I don't think I want to fight again for a while."

"Me neither. I-" Henry stopped. "Did you...?"

"With these ears? You bet I heard something." Eevee and Renamon had already tensed up, both of their human partners ready for one more battle.

"I don't detect a digimon," Guardromon said, looking around. I think...there!"

A form shimmered into appearance, one that Isao recognized immediately. "Goro Mizuno," he whispered.

"Finally, I caught up to you. There's-" That was as far as he got before Isao took three steps towards him, pulled back, and slugged the computer programmer in the face. Mizuno flew back a few feet, landing on his back.

"That's for what you put us through," Isao snarled.

"Funny way to greet the guy who's going to help get you home." Mizuno slowly got to his feet, hand massaging the side of his head. "I see your captivity hasn't diminished your physical strength." He looked over the group, saw Ryo holding a digiegg, Takato being dragged on an improvised stretcher by Jeri and Guardromon. Frowning, he nodded slowly. "I see. And I think I might have some answers. Please, come with me."

"Where to?" Rika looked suspiciously at Mizuno. "This better not be another-"

"No need to fear from little old me," Mizuno said. "Henry will vouch for me, right? How is Janyu doing?"

"Just fine...?" Henry replied a bit uncertainly.

"Wow. Your dad knew everyone."

"Terriermon, not now."

--Tokyo

"Well, for what it's worth, not a bad job, you two. Especially you, Kenta," Reilly sighed. "But don't go getting any ideas." In one corner of the Hypnos control room, Metal Agumon sat munching happily away on a small pile of food, Zero trying to sneak around the larger digimon to get what he considered his 'fair share'.

"You had us worried, son," Kenta's father said. "Running off like that isn't like you."

"You, on the other hand," Kazu's father leaned a bit menacingly over his own son. "I do hope you have a good explanation for this."

"They were going to attack this place. If Hypnos falls, then the others can't get back from the Digital World. And..." Kazu stumbled a bit, not sure how to continue.

"And we had to do something. It doesn't feel right to sit back," Kenta added.

"Way to tell 'em," Metal Agumon called. "Don't forget about Hi-"

"NOT NOW!"

Kazu looked at Kenta, then grinned. "Ahh, trying to score some points, eh? Dude." He clapped Kenta on the shoulder. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"Kenta, is there a girl? You're a bit young for dating."

"It's not like that!"

Kenta's parents looked at each other. "Oh, he must mean that girl from the television. Well, she is nice enough."

"No, he's too young to start a relationship. Unless it's some sort of alien mind control."

"Oh, Kenta! My baby's being turned into a mind slave of an alien invader!"

Reilly felt a familiar headache coming on. "No, it's not like that."

"Someone shoot me now," Kenta whispered, glaring at Kazu.

Having managed to ignore everything, Talli looked up from her console. "Reilly? Porygon has gone to the digital world. He should be getting the children soon."

--Digital World

To the group, the dark cave seemed a depressingly cliche way to go. "Rika," Renamon whispered. "There is something powerful here. It may be-"

"It is," Gabumon answered. "Mizuno, this is the lair of Ebonwumon, is it not?"

"We're being led to the home of the last of the Sovereign," Jeri gasped.

"If this is a trap, he'll have to deal with me!" Lillymon glowered at Mizuno's back.

"With all of us," Eevee added.

"There is no need to be afraid, humans and digimon," a voice thundered.

The darkness was banished instantly, everyone blinded for a second. When they could see again, a massive two-headed turtle confronted them. "I welcome you, my children."

Calumon hopped off of Unown, the small pokemon having stopped and was now trembling slightly. "Hi dad," he chirped, throwing everyone there for a second.

"Calumon," Ebonwumon thundered. With a small shock, everyone realized that both heads were speaking at once, adding a strange echoing quality to the digimon's voice. "I am glad you are unharmed. But there is little time remaining. Already, I sense your friends in the Real World are sending a means for you to return. That is good."

"We have Calumon," Isao interjected. "I was freed. We've suffered enough for your little war."

"And for that I can only offer an apology. When I helped create your digimon, I-"

"Wait...you created us?" Terriermon looked between Ebonwumon and Henry."

"Yes," Ebonwumon replied. "While we wait for the end, I must tell you how it began..."

To be continued!


	33. The border of death and reality

"Takato..." 

Takato Matsuki floated in utter blackness, the odd noise breaking the stillness. He wasn't really aware of anything, his state not too far from being half-asleep. His mind was a tumbled mix of images, memories, mostly centered on his friend's death.

Guilmon. The tiny part of him that was aware shrieked in grief. And over that, there was another voice, gentle yet powerful, hinting of the rumble of a volcano nearing eruption, the faint subsonic vibration that precedes an earthquake.

"Takato...you must awaken"

-  
Digicross Tamers episode 32 'The border of death and reality'  
--

Standing protectively beside Takato, Jeri looked up into two of the four eyes of the last of the Digimon Sovereign. Kind, wise eyes that had seen a great deal of sadness looked back. "Wh...what did you mean by the end?"

Goro Mizuno glanced at Jeri, then the rest of the tamers. "He meant, I regret to say, the end of the Digital World. All of this, everything here, all the Digimon that still dwell here, everything. Why did you think they were all showing up in the Real World?" He glanced at Isao, and received silence in return

"That can't be," Renamon snapped. "After everything we went through, our home is doomed?"

"Your home, for now, is safe, though the D-Reaper has managed to make some inroads there. And has been repelled quite handily," Ebonwumon answered. "This place is doomed."

"But we're from the digital world!" Terriermon protested. "I mean, yeah, we've got places in the Real World, but I grew up here." Silently, Henry resisted the urge to ask Terriermon's definition of 'grew up'. "And what's a D-Reaper?"

Ebonwumon closed his eyes. "It is...well, it's a Digimon, and its origins date back to the beginnings of the Digital World.

"The people you call the 'Monster Makers', such as Mizuno and Henry's father, created the Digital World in what can only be called an accident. A computer experiment in artificial intelligence taken to an extreme level. The initial program began to replicate itself, with minute but detectible differences between the individual replicas. In time, these differences became more pronounced and complex, to the point that the programs could begin thinking for themselves, beyond the scope of their original programming."

Hitomi's eyes widened. "That sounds like Uncle Izzy's theory on how our digital world evolved. But he always said that it occurred naturally as the networks of the world became more interconnected."

Mizuno smiled. "Young lady, when this is all over, I'm going to have a lot of questions to ask you. And your uncle."

Ryo looked confused, opened his mouth, and then saw Rika glance at him. "It's a long story," Rika explained. Ryo nodded.

"As we were saying," Ebonwumon cut in, "the original digital world, as you may have guessed, is the result of a college computer experiment, to be blunt about it. But unlike the more natural evolution of Hitomi and Eevee's native world, this digital world was altered."

"In other words, it wasn't broken, but we decided to fix it anyway. At the time, we were worried that the expanding AI program might start a cascade of errors; we didn't know about the artificial intelligence developing at the time. So, like any good group of programmers, we installed a specialized maintenance program that could catch out any excessive errors and delete them." Mizuno stopped there, letting the tamers and Digimon draw their own conclusions.

"You created the D-Reaper," Isao said bluntly. The younger tames looked at Isao, horrified, then back at Ebonwumon and Mizuno.

"Gee, thanks dad," Terriermon sighed, breaking the tension. "But that still leaves a gap between a bunch of computer geeks with a C-64 and this fine little package of digital engineering."

--

All over the Digital World, on all levels, it came. Red oozing explosions that deleted any digital matter it came in contact with. And the substance didn't evaporate.

It coalesced, with a single imperative.

Destroy Calumon.

--Real World, somewhere in Japan.

The doctor looked at the signed form, then nodded. "So, we found a family?"

"Yes," the intern replied. "It was tough, given the level of injury he had when we found him. Plus he had no identification on him, making our job that much more difficult. To say nothing of the paperwork. And yes, they signed off on the treatment. We can proceed when ready."

"Alright. One neuro-stimulant, ready to go. And the family understands the risks involved? That even if it works, there's a chance of permanent nerve damage?" The intern nodded. "Right. I forgot who helped design the drug in the first place. Alright, prep the patient. Let's see if we can't restore Goro Mizuno back to the land of the living."

--Hypnos HQ

"Porygon has advanced 28.97 through the barrier between our world and the Digital World," Talli informed everyone. "I've gotten no signal from the children, so I don't know if Porygon's on the right course or not." She finished that with a meaningful, if instantaneous glance, at Reilly, indicating that there was something of dire importance that she didn't want to discuss with everyone there.

Reilly went over. "What is it?"

"There's some sort of unusual readings coming from the Digital World. And it's matching the readings we got from the red substance that was attacking us earlier."

"How widespread?"

Talli grimaced. "The substance will completely envelop the Digital World within three hours. Maybe less." Reilly swore quietly. She looked up at Dolphin and Babel, who shrugged helplessly.

--Digital World

"The evolution...well, as computer technology evolved, so did this place," Mizuno explained. "And as it did, so did the Digimon here, and the D-Reaper. From what I've seen, it's advanced to the point that it sees any form of free will or sentience coming from digital matter is an unacceptable program bug." He stopped, looking around. "I think I'm...waking up..." he trailed off, fading out of sight.

"No!" Isao ran to where Mizuno was standing, hands waving around but not touching anything. "So, he woke up. Or did he finally..." He glanced at the children. "He's gone. Ebonwumon?"

"It's for the best. Some time ago, his body in the Real World was badly damaged, but his mind somehow made its way here. He was expecting it to happen, as was I. The timing is unfortunate."

"You were about to tell us why the D-Reaper stopped working?" Henry prodded the Digimon.

Ebonwumon nodded. "Yes. The D-Reaper evolved in a relatively straight line, at a fixed rate. But we Digimon had an advantage."

"Digivolution." Rika glanced at Renamon, then at the other Digimon.

"Exactly. By rapidly increasing our power, we were able to seal the D-Reaper away at the core of our world. But it too has learned of digivolution, and it wants that power so it can carry out its own function, that of destroying Digimon, and humanity as well." At everyone's stunned expression, his left head grinned. "It's logical, isn't it? Humans created the Digital World. Therefore, while humans exist, there is always the possibility of another digital world being created. So in addition to sealing him away, we tried to hide. In plain sight, as it were."

"By sealing away the power of digivolution," Henry guessed. "If it didn't look like Digimon were evolving at an uncontrolled rate, then the D-Reaper would have no reason to try to get loose again. So what changed?"

"No one knows. For some reason, the D-Reaper became active again. Perhaps it digivolved after all. All we knew was that our sealed away enemy started trying to get out, and had started corrupting Digimon, absorbing them and adding their power to its own. It even managed to capture Baihumon."

"Were...were you friends," Jeri asked a bit quietly.

"Yes. But I hold no malice to you. What you fought was no longer Baihumon." Ebonwumon was quiet for a second, and then got a hold of himself. "When Baihumon fell, we knew that we had to prepare for the worst. We needed Digimon who could digivolve. In short, you."

"What?" The Digimon there looked confused. "Wait," Guardromon finally said. "Then the reason that there were no more digieggs created was..."

"Yes," the guardian answered. "We ended the system of rebirth. It was a hard thing to do, but the alternative of letting the D-Reaper attack helpless newborn Digimon was infinitely worse. You Digimon are a new type of Digimon, able to survive on your own without the Digital World's help. And we have given you the power of Digivolution, though I must admit that the form it took was a bit of a surprise to us. It was not until Mizuno came here that I was able to understand what had truly happened."

Isao arched an eyebrow. "He introduced his own code into the Digital World, one that could trigger a digimon's digivolution."

"The blue cards," Rika whispered.

"Yes. And before you ask, the D-Reaper's rebirth predates Mizuno's interference. And, with his help, we were able to create one other, special Digimon."

"Oh, it's me, right?" Calumon hopped up and down, waving his tiny arms.

"Yes. You see, Calumon is the key to a new world."

"Wow, that's neat, isn't it...Hey, why's Unown sleeping on Takato?" Everyone glanced at their stricken friend, and saw that the small pokemon was indeed perched on Takato's head, a faint trilling noise coming from it.

--Elsewhere

Takato looked around, panicking slightly as the images of Guilmon fell away, replaced by what looked like a starscape, with countless black and white figures floating around. "Are those...Unown?"

"Yes." It was the voice that he had heard before. Slowly materializing, first out of crystal, then colours slowly seeping in, a massive four-legged creature, was a large beast looking vaguely like a cross between a bear and a fierce attack dog. "There is not much time, Takato Matsuki. You must return to where you are needed."

"But..how can I? After what I did..."

"There is no time," the beast thundered, making Takato step back. "All this time, and you have not fully grasped Guilmon's true nature. Were he any other Digimon, then there would be no return. But Guilmon is special."

"I created him. He didn't come from the Digital World. And I...I..."

"Many years ago, there was one like you, who lost someone close to her. And like you, she tried to retreat, summoning me into existence. And, like you, her actions nearly cost everyone dearly. Will you keep retreating, when your own friend is trying to get out? Or, like her, will you move ahead?"

"I...I..."

The fierce look faded from the beast's eyes, replaced with an almost paternal gentleness. "Like me, Guilmon was born from a dream. Believe in that dream, and you can accomplish anything."

"Anything?" Takato was overwhelmed. He could do everything over, do it right this time.

No. That wouldn't work. He wanted his Guilmon back, not some revised and edited copy.

--

The room shook. "The D-Reaper. So, he's made his move." Ebonwumon frowned. "You must get Calumon clear of this place. And this creature can destroy digital material, so you cannot fight it directly."

"Wait," Hitomi said. "It attacked me, but it just enveloped me, until Ryo and Cyberdramon broke me out."

"What?" Ebonwumon looked horrified. "Child, this is terrible. Did it do anything to you?"

"My head felt weird, and-" she stopped, turned to see Rika and Renamon heading towards the exit. "Rika, what are you doing?" Rika and Renamon didn't answer. "Rika?"

Ebonwumon looked at Rika. "The D-Reaper consumes digital matter. It would destroy you in seconds. You cannot fight them,"

"Watch me," Rika replied, and left. Henry moved to follow her, as did Hitomi. "Hitomi-" Jeri said, then looked down.

"It's alright. Keep an eye on Takato." Hitomi smiled at Jeri, and then followed Henry. In another corner of the room, Isao started explaining a few things about Hitomi to Ryo, who nearly dropped his digiegg in shock.

--

Porygon managed to sneak his way past the outer layers of the strange energy surrounding the Digital World, partly through its inborn familiarity with things computer, partly through judicious use of his Conversion ability, enabling it to slip by any potential hazards undetected. It did detect a mass outflow of beings similar to itself, Digimon according to its data.

The speed and disorganization would have reminded Porygon of rats deserting a sinking ship, were it programmed to think that way. As it was, it did notice that, even with his Conversion ability running, there were still some noticeable alterations to certain of its functions. Evolution seemed to be impacted, though there was no way to tell how.

But such things were only occupying a small part of its mind. Its primary goal was retrieval of the humans and their partner Digimon.

--

Rika stood on a small outcropping, and looked into a sea of utter chaos. An oozing purplish substance crept over the landscape, enveloping everything in its path. "Rika," Renamon said, nodding to one mountain in the distance, already enveloped and seeming to melt like snow in the hot sun.

"I see it. You ready?" Renamon nodded. "Matrix Evolution!"

"Renamon, evolve...Sakuyamon!" Sakuyamon shot forward, looking for an enemy to fight.

Renamon's voice echoed in Rika's mind. :Rika, where do we start? The D-Reaper is everywhere.:

:This seems like a good place to start.: Aloud: "Vajra Mandala!" Gold and silver streams of energy shot out of Sakuyamon's staff, striking the sea of chaos and forcing it back. Inside Sakuyamon, both Rika and Renamon gasped. Where the D-Reaper's form had been forced back, there was nothing underneath. :He wasn't kidding,: Rika said. :It's eating away at the digital world. And it's everywhere.:

:No,: Renamon growled. :I will not let this thing take my home, not without a fight!: Sakuyamon cast a shield around herself, and dove straight into the swirling red mass.

--

"RIKA!" Hitomi and Eevee ran forward, evolving to Valkyrimon as they left the small cavern.

"They can't...they can't be gone!"

Ebonwumon looked at Jeri. "I...No, they are not." The turtle guardian looked amazed. "I can still sense Sakuyamon. But I don't understand it. The D-Reaper mass should have absorbed her already."

"It's the human aspect." Isao said. "It's not just a Digimon, there's a human partner to go with it. It may be that the D-Reaper can't deal with humans."

"But don't we become digital information when we come here?" Henry looked at Isao.

"Well, Digimon don't exactly obey normal physical laws when they come to our world," Ryo added, looking up. "Maybe we keep some of our Real World traits when we come here."

Henry glanced at Jeri. "Then we can help."

Isao saw the torment on Jeri's face. "We'll keep an eye on Takato. Go help them."

"Hey, what about us," Lillymon demanded. "Can't we do something?"

"Wait here," Ebonwumon said. "I believe Mr. Akiyama has solved the riddle."

"Well, I-" He stopped as Takato's eyes suddenly snapped open, his injured arm practically flying up, reaching for the ceiling.

"GUILMON!"

--

Outside, Valkyrimon searched around for any sign of Sakuyamon. "Rika? Renamon?" The white Digimon dodged around a tendril that tried to catch her, slashing at it with her sword. "Rika!"

The ground below her rumbled, the red ooze bubbling and shifting. it exploded outwards, dispelled by a vast white dome of energy. Sakuyamon levitated up, smirking. "I can't leave you alone for a second, can I?" She floated back, holding a hand up. "No hugging."

Valkyrimon stopped, blushing underneath her mask. "Ahh...sorry..."

"Sigh...will you quit apologizing and attack?" Sakuyamon spun around, her staff striking and exploding another red tendril. "We have to keep that red gunk away from the others before they-"

"rrrrRRRRRRAHHHH!" A red and white comet shot by them both, carving a long deep furrow into the D-Reaper mass. The comet stopped, and the two could, in the distance, see a small white and red figure, cape billowing, lance sparking from just-released energy.

"Was that..." Rika and Hitomi stared at the figure, which floated up and advanced. As he closed, they could maker out a small face on top of the knight's helmet. And a knight it clearly was, clad in white armour with a familiar symbol on the chest. "No way...Takato...?"

"And Guilmon..." Valkyrimon gasped.

"Hey," Takato said from inside Gallantmon. "Sorry I'm late." Another part of the D-Reaper mass froze over, then exploded. Saint Galgomon and Ancient Garurumon landed nearby. "Okay, here's the plan..."

--

"A digiport?" Ryo asked.

"It will take all my power, and it will be hard to get to. I can sense something coming from the Real World to pick up everyone. I will hold the portal as long as possible."

"Wait. Something's coming?" Ryo looked confused.

"Yes, but I cannot tell what, or if it will make it. Either way, you all must RRRRGHHHH!!" Ebonwumon screamed as a red spike burst from the floor of the room they were in and impaled the guardian. "Nnnnn..." A panicked attack from Guardromon and Lillymon forced it back as the two humans watched, horrified. The spike receded. "No..."

"Ebonwumon!" Ryo got up and ran over.

"I...I will not last long. It is trying to seize the portal so it can go to your world. The D-Reaper must be stopped. I have held one back...Isao...you must join them..."

Isao's eyes narrowed. "I don't like where this is leading. You want me to fuse with that...thing. Isn't that right?"

Ebonwumon concentrated, and Impmon's body appeared. "I was able to retrieve him not long after he was beaten. But his body was affected by the D-Reaper. I think I purged it, but it is a terrible risk. Calumon can help you with the evolution process."

"But that's Impmon," Isao snarled.

"His mind is all but gone now, lost. It will be you, and you alone, that drives him." Isao looked down, saw that his D-Arc was in his hand. "Please. There is no other way."

"Ryo," Isao said. "Get the other Digimon to the upper levels."

"Dad?"

"Ryo, go. I'll see you later. I promise." Ryo nodded and left, guiding the other Digimon, Calumon and Unown perched on his head, up the stairs. once they were gone: "You're not coming, are you?"

"I cannot. The D-Reaper program is a part of my make up. That is how the other three were turned quickly. I can feel it growing inside of me, trying to subvert me. Hurry. Go to the roof, and ask Calumon to help you and Impmon evolve. Your transport is nearly here, I can sense it clearly now."

"But-" Ryo said.

"Do not fear. The D-Reaper fears your power, which is why it waited so long to attack me. When I die, the Digital World dies with me. When Azulongmon fell, I tied my life-force to this place. A desperate bargaining chip, but necessary."

Isao nodded, and left. He ran up the stairs, Impmon clutched in his arms. He thought he could feel the small Digimon stir slightly, but forced the thought aside.

On the roof, he could see his son and the gathered Digimon all staring off into the distance. "Guardromon said he spotted something approaching us."

Isao nodded. "Calumon. I need a favour..."

--

"I'm starting to feel like King Cahoot." Gallantmon griped

"That's Canute. And we're fighting more than just the tide here." Henry sighed, launching another spread of missiles. "Is it just me, or are we winning?"

"I think it's pulling back!" Sakuyamon stared at the receding wave, not at all cheered by Ancient Garurumon's relieved tone. To her, it was more like the water pulling back before the tidal wave hit.

Then she saw it. Three shapes emerged from the red ooze, taking on forms that the Tamers were all to familiar with. "Great. We have to fight the guardians again."

"Well, we're a lot stronger now," Gallantmon said remarked. "And...well..."

"Takato," Ancient Garurumon said to the red and white knight. "You don't have to prove anything to us." The two mega Digimon stared at each other for a second.

"Anyone else find that a bit...weird?" Terriermon asked from inside Saint Galgomon. "Ow! Henry!"

"Well, what do you know? In here, I just have to think about it, and it happens."

"This matrix evolution stuff is getting less pleasant every second."

Gallantmon stared at the three. :Guilmon?:

:Yes, Takato?:

:Let's show the D-Reaper just what we can do.: "Everyone, stay back. I got this one."

"Takato..." Ancient Garurumon looked at Gallantmon uncertainly.

Gallantmon stared defiantly at the oncoming D-Reaper avatars. "Everyone, wait for it." The replica guardians leaped at the Digimon. "Wait...SHIELD OF THE JUST!" Gallantmon thrust his shield skyward, calling up a massive dome of force, repelling the attackers. Baihumon and Zhuquiamon collided with each other, landing in a heap and momentarily lost cohesion, becoming a single pile of red ooze. Azulongmon's crimson body recovered, gained altitude, and started raining red lightning bolts down on the defenders.

"Any more ideas, gogglehead?" Sakuyamon snapped, missing a slightly cross look from Valkyrimon. "I.." She stopped, seeing four small rods pop out of the base of Gallantmon's lance. The part in front of the had guard started to shimmer.

"When we shoot down Azulongmon, take care of Baihumon and Zhuquiamon. The D-Reapers feeding a large amount of energy into those three." Gallantmon, eyes fixed on Azulongmon, aimed the energy lance skyward. "LIGHTNING JOUST!"

The energy bolt shot through the shield and impaled Azulongmon, who screamed in agony as the bolt tore it apart.

"No way...with one shot?" Gabumon gasped inside Ancient Garurumon.

"It's will," Gallantmon answered. "That's why the D-Reaper is doing all of this, using copies of the Digimon we fought before. A Digimon and their Tamer is as strong as their combined will lets them be."

"Works for us! GIANT MISSILE!" Saint Galgomon launched his two shoulder missiles, which slammed into Baihumon. "We can beat this walking jello dessert back!" Valkyrimon and Sakuyamon shot forward, the former slicing at the tiger's side, Sakuyamon stopping just short, taking out a single ofuda, then touched the end of her staff to it. "Orochi's Tomb!" she shouted.

For a second, nothing happened, Baihumon too busy with the comparatively small Valkyrimon to pay Sakuyamon much heed. Then, a spectral version of Orochimon burst from the ground, his eight serpentine necks wrapping around the tiger guardian, then pulling it underground.

An explosion came from behind them, just as Gallantmon leaped over the hole Baihumon had been pulled into and fired another Lightning Joust down after the falling beast. A very familiar explosion, much like a small cannon going off.

Ancient Garurumon stood dumbfounded as Zhuquiamon fell, crumbling before the metallic digimon's eyes. Beelzemon stood there, one weapon drawn, small drips of D-Reaper falling from his free clawed hand. "You again..." Sakuyamon growled.

"We have to go. Our ride is here." Isao Akiyama said. Behind him floated a large angular creature, looking vaguely like a duck.

"A Porygon," Valkyrimon wondered, as the surviving Digimon waved from its back.

--

Renamon looked at the receding world, watching as the reddish-purple ooze that was the D-Reaper consumed everything, reducing what was once her home to nothing more than a faded memory.  
She felt an odd pang of regret. She wasn't truly saddened by what had happened; indeed, the other Digimon that had human partners were doing alright. Lillymon and Guardromon looked back sadly, but seemed to have no real desire to throw their lives away in a suicidal rush. Maybe they just accepted it. Maybe it was knowing that Calumon had the key to creating a new digital world.  
"Renamon?" Rika touched Renamon's elbow. "Umm...you OK?" Mentally, Rika swore. She was no good at this.  
"Yes," Renamon replied after a moment's pause. "I wish we had been able to save it, but"  
"But"  
"But that is no longer my home." Renamon's mouth betrayed a faint smile. "How is Ryo doing"  
"Oh, he just learned that Hitomi's from another world where everything he saw on TV was acted out"  
Renamon nodded. "About as well as you handled it, then"  
"Hmph. In his dreams, maybe"  
The group was currently on the back of an oversized Porygon, which, as Hitomi explained, was a computer generated pokemon that had been sent by 'uncle' Izzy to take them back to the Human World. For his part, Ryo just nodded. "So, you're really"  
Hitomi nodded. "I'm sorry. I should have told you, but"  
"Forget it. Even with everything that I've seen, I wouldn't have believed it." He grinned. "Well, I knew you were out of this world, but"  
"Ryo," Isao gently admonished his son, unconscious Impmon clutched in his arms. Everyone else ignored Hitomi's face turning red, though Rika did groan a bit. "Hopefully, we can figure out a more permanent solution to this problem once we get back. I don't like the idea of leaving the D-Reaper here, where it can recover its strength and plan another attack." He gasped as he saw a piece of the D-Reaper break off and slowly make its way to the blue-green sphere that represented the Human World. "It's attacking. Can we stop it"  
"We have to," Henry replied. "There's no telling how much damage that thing could do. Or"  
"Or if the D-reaper's already invaded." Takato completed. "Lets go."

"Wait here," Rika said to Hitomi and Jeri. "The three of us can handle that thing."

"Three? What about me?" Jeri looked at Rika, a bit hurt.

"Someone's got to stay here and make sure that everyone else makes it back to our world." Takato smiled at Jeri. "We'll be fine. Matrix Evolution!" The three tamers evolved, and took off from Porygon's back to battle the D-Reaper.

Isao frowned as he watched the three go into combat with the D-Reaper blob. It was fighting very tenaciously, managing to prevent them from making any combined attacks. As well as managing to maneuver itself between them and Porygon. "Why would that-" He stopped, looked behind him. "No."

A second blob, smaller than the first but moving much faster, was coming straight at Porygon. "We'll handle it. Matrix Evolution! Ancient Garurumon!" Jeri evolved with her partner into the metallic Digimon and charged, sending a wave of cold in front of it.

"Hitomi..." Ryo looked at the young tamer, worry clear in his eyes. Saying nothing, Hitomi smiled back at Ryo, transformed into Valkyrimon, and joined Ancient Garurumon in battle. "Dad?"

"You're a bit young for dating, son." Privately, Isao stared at the second D-Reaper. So, he thought, you were able to draw everyone away. But if it can create two, then why not...

"Three?" something asked. There was a shriek from Lillymon as a reddish-black creature seemed to ooze up from out of nowhere. "You know you can't escape me, Isao Akiyama. Or should I say Yamaki?" Isao glared at the creature as it formed into a Digimon Ryo recognized all too well. D-Reaper Beelzemon smirked at Isao, then glanced at Calumon, who was cowering behind Guardromon. "When Impmon agreed to help us, we were able to get a look at his data, as you would put it. So of course we were able to extrapolate his fully evolved form. And the addition of the final Guardian revealed the full extent of his plan to us. ingenious, putting the code for a new digital world inside such an otherwise weak and useless Digimon. Hand him over, and your world will be spared."

"You're dreaming."

Beelzemon smirked at Isao's bravado. "You think you can stop me? But perhaps this form is a bit too...distracting." Beelzemon shifted into a more human form. "There," Yamaki, complete with sunglasses, said in Isao's own voice. "Come now. You wanted to destroy all Digimon, so does the D-Reaper. We should be working together."

Ryo looked at his father. "Dad?"

:Impmon,: Isao snarled mentally:I know you've regained consciousness. We need Beelzemon. Now.:

:Yeah, like I'd help you.:

:You want to die here,: Isao asked back, eyes not leaving his doppelganger. :The D-Reaper used you too, you know.:

:Don't we need some sort of major revelation or somethin'? Or is the desire to kick gelatin-brain's butt from here to earth enough?:

"I'm getting tired, Isao." One of Beelzemon's shotguns materialized in his left hand, aimed at where Calumon was standing. "This offer was extended out of professional courtesy, one reaper to another, if you will."

Isao grinned, kneeling down and setting Impmon's body on the ground. "Yes. I suppose in a way, I am a reaper. And right now, I'm staring at my next target."

"You fool!" Yamaki's gun swung around, aiming at Isao. Ryo started to get up, Guardromon readied a grenade, Lillymon started preparing a Flower Cannon attack.

Isao beat them all. "Matrix Evolution! Beelzemon!"

As this was happening, the other Tamers were slowly starting to fight back their own opponents. Valkyrimon saw what was happening first. "Jeri," she called.

"Go help them, we've got this thing under control!" Ancient Garurumon replied, freezing part of the D-Reaper blob with another burst of cold, then shattering it, the pieces falling back towards the larger red mass that used to be the Digital World. Nodding, Valkyrimon flew back towards Porygon.

Beelzemon struggled with the D-Reaper clone, which had shifted into a blood-red duplicate of Beelzemon; both were wrestling with one of Beelzemon's own shotguns, trading vicious headbutts and knee strikes all the while. "Why are you fighting?"

"I've got my son back," Isao's voice answered back. "And I don't like bein' used," Impmon's voice added. With a snarl, the real Beelzemon yanked one hand back, then raked his claws along the torso of the D-Reaper clone, causing red ooze to seep out. this followed with a knee to the gut, then the handgun was wrenched free-

As the clone's empty hand morphed into a blood-red blade and stabbed Beelzemon in the chest. Dimly, Isao was aware of Ryo screaming as he saw the weapon strike. He could also feel the D-Reaper trying to assimilate his body, struggling with the hybrid makeup of the mega level Digimon. And he could also see...

There is a way to stop it, for now, a voice said. An image floated through Isao's mind, a large Digimon he knew all too well. You have the key, Ebonwumon whispered. Hurry.

Then the blade withdrew. Forcing his eyes open, he saw that several arrows were sticking out of the clone, Valkyrimon nearby, bow still in hand. Beelzemon's gun came up, spoke twice, and the clone fell away, two massive holes torn in the red corpse. Beelzemon fell too, only to be caught by Valkyrimon. "Mr. Akiyama!"

"Valkyrimon...no, Hitomi Motomiya..." Beelzemon whispered.

:I don't feel so good,: Impmon telepathically said. :At least I get to see you go with me.:

"Don't flatter yourself, Impmon..." Beelzemon whispered. In a louder voice. "For what I did to you and your partner...there can be no forgiveness..."

"No, don't say that," Valkyrimon begged. "You just found Ryo again. We have to get you back home!" She gasped as she saw part of the wound shift between the greyish-black skin of Beelzemon and the red of the D-reaper.

"You see it. The D-Reaper is trying to convert me, just as it did the other Digimon. I know what I have to do. Get Ryo home, please. And...and yourself."

"No..." Behind the gold visor, Valkyrimon's eyes widened as Beelzemon suddenly twisted, wrenched his arm free, and dove towards the red mass of the D-Reaper, flying at speeds none of the others could match. There was a blast behind her as Sakuyamon finished off the last part of the blob she, Gallantmon and Saint Galgomon were battling. "We have to get him!"

"There's no time," Guardromon called. "The portal is opening!" Ryo leaped to his feet, digiegg clutched in one arm, and made to leap off the back of Porygon. Lillymon grabbed him, trying to stop the boy from throwing his life away.

"Ryo..."

Ryo stopped struggling, looking incredulously at his D-Arc. "Ryo," Isao's voice came out of the digivice, "there is no other way to save you. Please, don't come after me."

"No, I just got you back! Get back here now, please!"

"Ryo! There. Is. No. Choice. That last attack...I'm sorry." Isao's voice faded out.

"Dad? Dad!" Ryo clutched his D-arc, tears streaming down his face.

As he fell, Beelzemon felt, for the first time, at peace. His wound didn't hurt that much, even though he could still feel the D-Reaper tugging at the edge of his consciousness. "Well, you get to be the strongest Digimon."

:Yeah. And you get to destroy the digital world. I guess we both win. But these popguns won't do much good.:

:That's alright. I have one more program to run. You remember it, I believe.:

Impmon's voice was silent for a moment. Then:yeah, what the heck. We gotta go, might as well be with some style.: Beelzemon grinned, the guns falling from his hands. He made a fist, then opened it, revealing a small silvery rectangle of metal. As he neared the D-Reaper mass, he flicked open the lighter cover, then brought his thumb down, spinning the wheel, emitting a small trail of sparks as he crashed into the sea of red.

Far above, Ryo stared after the distant image of his father, praying that some miracle might bring him back. Valkyrimon and Ancient Garurumon landed on Porygon, switching back to their human forms, joined by Gallantmon, Sakuyamon, and Saint Galgomon, who did likewise.

"Wh...what happened," Takato asked as he saw Jeri and Hitomi, both looking devastated.

"Where's Mr. Akiyama," Henry asked slowly, then saw Ryo. "Ah, no," he swore softly.

Porygon howled as the portal finally stabilized enough to allow the group to enter, flying through with its cargo. And, unknown to anyone, a single crimson phantom followed only moments behind, quickly vanishing into the background noise.

:They're gone,: Impmon noted, as he felt the portal close. :Jelly brain's ticked.:

:Good.: Beelzemon exploded out of the crimson sea, wings tearing through the dense fluid, black and silver cannon mounted on his right arm tracking, searching for the target. :You see it?:

:Yeah. Ebonwumon's digicore. So, what, he's some kind of zombie now?:

:He said when his digicore went, the whole world would go with it. The D-Reaper must be keeping Ebonwumon's digicore just alive enough to continue maintaining this world. But it's hard to track. I...there. Loading Yuugoth Blaster.: The cannon split open, small yellow arcs of energy crackling along its length. In the distance, the demonic Digimon could spot a small glowing point, a contrasting point of blue-grey in a sea of red. "Target locked."

:Power's full. Well, it's been interesting.:

"It has indeed. 5...4...3...2...1...DEATHSLINGER!"

The yellow energy bolt ripped out of Beelzemon's cannon, easily ripping through the D-Reaper's body, stabbing the faded and crumbling digicore, erasing it from existence.

"Ryo..." Something warm washed over him, then he saw no more.

To be continued.


	34. The reformatting, part 1

The parking lot crackled with energy; crimson lightning arced from ground to metal, the one thing keeping the crowd back. At the front, Reilly, fought her own urge to charge into the middle of the chaos.

Then, Porygon appeared, rising up through the concrete the way a submarine might break the surface of the ocean. The impenetrable surface rippled outward, then snapped back, the screaming tear in the fabric of reality pulling itself closed. There was a terrible silence, as the people regarded the small pokemon. Then, buzzing, it emitted several streams of energy, which resolved into a group of humans and digimon that the crowd was waiting for.

"TAKATO!" Both of Takato's parents nearly trampled Nami Asaji as they rushed to embrace the son they had feared lost. Somewhat more sedately, the other parents made their way over to their respective children. As they closed, they all saw the near-devastated expressions the Tamers had; much of Satoshi Kato's annoyance at Jeri's decision to go fell away. What has she seen, he wondered, glancing at her partner Gabumon.

Reilly cast her eyes over the group, doing a head count. All the Tamers and their partners were back, good, but where she expected Isao to be..."R...Ryo?"

Ryo looked at Reilly, seeming to snap out of the daze he was in, then fell to his knees, tears streaming out of his eyes.

-  
Digicross Tamers -The reformatting, part 1

Written by Patrick O'Shea, with deep apologies to all those who have been waiting As always, all Digimon characters, settings, etc. are owned by Bandai, Pokemon is owned by Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri Some ideas taken from:

Yuusha Taisen  
Yuusha Oh Gaogaigar  
Yuusha Shirei Dagwon  
Kanzen Shouri Daiteioh  
Super Robot Wars OGs  
Sakura Taisen Digimon World 3

With thanks to Metal Dragoon for Metal Agumon, the Digicross Mailing list, and to everyone who reviewed. Skuld willing, I can get back on this beast and bring it to a close.

--One week later

The last bell rang, signaling the end of class for the day. After taking a few days off to recover, the Tamers had returned to school, though none of them had been able to speak about what had happened with the other students. Even Kazu and Kenta had, with some encouragement, managed to keep their mouths shut about the affair.

"Any word," Henry asked as he, Takato, Jari, and Hitomi left the building.

Hitomi shook her head. "It looks like the decline has worn off. All of the digimon from..." Hitomi struggled to find the words. "The digimon from here have all leveled off at the rookie level. So far, they haven't been able to digivolve."

"I tried to digivolve Gabumon, but nothing happened," Jeri added. "But Suzie could digivolve Houndour to Houndoom with no problem. It's because Houndour's a hybrid, right?" Hitomi nodded. "I don't suppose-"

"Dad's still trying to figure out how to transfer the traits over to our digimon," Henry cut in. "I think he said that Guilmon was doing a bit better than the other digimon. I was just headed over there to have a look, want to come with?"

"Can't," Takato replied. "After we came back, mom came down on me like a ton of bricks. If it wasn't for dad, I'd be getting home schooled now."

Jeri sighed. "Same here. If it wasn't for mom, dad would have me locked in my room until I was 30."

"I have to pick up some things for Ms. Asaji," Hitomi said. "She has to stay late for a staff meeting."

"Yo!" The tamers looked back to see Kazu and Kenta running out of the school. "Mind if we tag along?"

--HYPNOS

Suzie did her best to stay quiet and Not Get In The Way, as her father had instructed. It was already failing miserably, Janyu noted, but he appreciated the effort. "So, why are you able to keep your strength?"

"Lotsa bread?" Guilmon looked around. "Where's Takato?"

"School, Guilmon," Janyu replied. "There's some odd readings in your DDNA. I think it's what's stabilizing your energy. If I could isolate it...Do you know how you got this?"

Guilmon cocked his head to one side. "I was together with Takato."

Janyu nodded; after a lot of patience, he had gotten the full story of what had happened in the Digital World, and about the Matrix Evolution abilities the Tamers had gained. But all of the Tamers had done that; Renamon, Gabumon, and Terriermon should be just as strong as Guilmon was now. If anything, Lillymon and Guardromon (why had they retained their levels, he wondered. Was it because they had evolved naturally, as opposed to the forced nature of digivolution?). There was no way unless...

Wait.

He glanced at Suzie, giving her the look that said 'out of the room, grown up words are coming'. Obediently, Suzie nodded, and made her way over to where Labramon was resting. Houndor was pacing around her assigned spot, then made her way over to Suzie. "Guilmon, tell me about the fight you had with Beelzemon."

--

"Ryo..."

Ryo Akiyama floated in a sea of blackness, feeling some hideous intelligence pressing down on him. He was asleep, he told himself, dreaming. "Yeah. All just a dream."

"This is no dream, Ryo Akiyama. This is a chance...at a miracle."

Huh, Ryo wondered. He remembered the return to the real world, the tearful reunion he had with 'Aunt' Reilly, going back to her home to figure out what he'd do now, then...

"I can bring him back."

An image flashed in his mind, breaking his train of thought. Dad! Lost to him in the final desperate escape from the dying digital world, sacrificing himself so the rest could escape...

"I can make her yours."

Another image, standing in front of him. "No," Ryo gasped as the clone of Hitomi Motomiya smiled warmly at him, disbelieving.

"I can take the pain away."

"D-REAPER!" Ryo screamed, eyes snapping open. Around him, he saw only red ooze. "No, you can't be here! You were on the Digital World when...when..."

"I am not so easily destroyed, Ryo Akiyama. My power is great, my purpose...now clear to me."

"You...you killed my father!" Where was Monodramon, Ryo thought furiously.

"Think not of the digimon, Ryo. It is they that took your father, who shared much of my own goals. He too sought the destruction of the Digital World."

Ryo tried to respond, but something the D-Reaper said..."Make her...?"

--HYPNOS

"Umm..." Kazu looked down at the perpetually cheerful Calumon. "So, how's it...going?"

"Great!" Calumon looked around. "Where's everyone else? Unown and I were exploring this place, it's so huge, but no one wants to talk to me bacause they're all busy with figuring out why all the digimon are so tired and don't want to play with me and Unown-"

"Woah," Kenta said. "Man, just listening to you is exhausting." He cringed as Calumon's ears drooped, and he looked ready to burst into tears. "That's not what I meant!"

"Hey, can we see Veemon and Agumon?"

"Oh, yeah! They've been really bored because they're stuck here while Henry's dad tries to fix them but they can't really go anywhere because they're so tired all the time and they want to know how to get this new digital world out of me so everyone can feel better but I'm kinda scared because Rika said something about a really big plastic glove but no one wanted to tell me what that meant..."

Kazu felt pity for the staff at HYPNOS; he had to put up with Calumon for a few hours at most. They had to deal with him on a day-to-day basis...

Several floors up, Lillymon leaned against a wall, bored out of her mind. The last week had been pretty much men in white lab suits asking dumb (to her) questions, looking at big computer screens, and, worst of all, keeping her from Gabumon. "Rrr, I've had it with this place. Just let us GO, already, I feel fine!"

"Where would you go," Guardormon asked, who had taken the past week with much more dignity. "Our digital world is gone, and we have no home outside this place."

"How should I know? Maybe that girl, Hilda, Harriet..."

"Hitomi."

"Yeah, her. Maybe I can get a lift to her place. Sounds like the Digital World there is just fine."

"You would abandon your home that quickly?" Guardromon stared at the plant digimon, startled by her callous seeming words.

Lillymon was silent for a second. Then: "Well, it's not like there's a lot we can do about it, is there? And I'm not one for sitting around moping. Why, you have plans?"

"I thought I might try to find a Tamer like the others." Guardromon attempted to shrug, succeeded somewhat, then looked away. "As you say, there is nothing else to do."

--

Rika looked at the principal as if he were mad. "My dad?"

"Yes. He said he wished to speak with you about something important."

Rika got up, uneasy. Something about this whole situation felt wrong...

--

Hitomi had made her way to the store and was just about to enter when she felt someone taping on her shoulder. Looking behind her, she saw Ryo Akiyama. "Hey," the boy said.

"Ryo! Are you..." Hitomi trailed off, unsure what to say next.

"I'm...OK, really. It's just been hard, readjusting, you know." Hitomi nodded. "Say, can we talk? I mean...about us."

"Yeah...I think we should."

--

The doors to HYPNOS slid open, and Reilly entered, in full uniform, walking purposefully to the elevator. She exchanged few pleasantries with the staff, who took it as nothing unusual; she had been taking care of Yamaki's son, he having sacrificed himself in full view of Ryo.

No one noticed that she paide careful attention to avoiding any digimon.

--

Energy. Twisting and turning, crying for the order that came with total annihilation. Infuriated, if it could be thought of as alive.

Rukario's eyes opened, he emerging from the meditative trance he and his partner had been in these last few days. He reached out mentally, and released Reilly from the state of suspended animation he had placed her in. Then his mind went over the situation, focusing past the groans as Reilly came back to full awareness.

They had been settling in. Ryo was just starting to come out of the shell he had locked himself in. Reilly had taken him upstairs to the small guest room that Ryo's father had recently stayed in. Cyberdramon's egg had been taken to HYPNOS for study. Rukario had noted some odd energy patterns attached to the egg, but had, foolishly he now realized, paid it little heed, more focused on his need for rest. They had rested that night, only to be woken up by a weird shrieking noise. Then...

"Where...Ryo? RYO!" Reilly got up, then gasped.

All around her, her entire apartment, was covered in reddish ooze.

Rukario's eyes stopped glowing. "The D-Reaper has returned. And I have only now recovered enough to get us out of here."

"But Ryo-"

"He is not here," Rukario answered.

--

"So, how's the search going?"

Hitomi involuntarily glanced towards the HYPNOS building. "It's on hold," she replied. "Losing the Digital World here made it hard to get in touch with home. I..."

Ryo didn't speak for a moment. "Have...have you considered making this your home?" Hitomi shook her head, more forcefully than she was aware. "Just if things don't work out."

"They will," she replied. "I know that they will." She smiled a bit. "Digidestined never quit, no matter the odds."

Ryo smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Takeru said that after that run you, Yamato, and Sakura had that run in with Shadow Veedramon."

Hitomi's smile vanished. She looked at Ryo, suddenly terrified. "How...I never told anyone about that..."

Ryo's expression faded away, and he looked down. "I was hoping to make this easy for both of us, Hitomi Motomiya." Ryo's voice had changed, it taking on a more electronic quality. He looked at Hitomi again, but his eyes had gone solid red. "But you hold the key to the completion of my mission.

"And you **will **help me complete it."

--

Eevee seemed to snap to full awareness. Nearby, Noctowl looked around, sensing something wrong. "Window," Eevee said. Noctowl nodded, and flew over to the nearby window, which was partially opened. Noctowl squeezed through, then Eevee, who climbed on the bird pokemon's back. The two flew off, headed for where Eevee knew Hitomi to be.

--

Suzie frantically tried to hold back Houndour. "Bad dog!" Across the room, Reilly got up, glowering at the pokemon. "She's a friend!"

"That's not Reilly," Houndour growled. "It's the D-Reaper." Suzie ignored her, convinced that Houndour was sick.

"Do not interfere," Reilly said, standing. Suzie glanced back at Reilly, hoping that she wouldn't tell on them and have Houndour taken away.

Then she saw the red material underneath the partially burned off jumpsuit.

--

Janyu started as he heard the scream. "Suzie?"

--

"No..." Ryo moaned as he tried to fight the mind-numbing effects of the...place he was in. Why was it so hard to think? How long had he been in there?

"Yes. This world must be healed, Ryo Akiyama. Once done, it can be rebuilt in a proper state. An orderly state. Where no one will lose a loved one ever again."

The temptation, played out in Ryo's mind, was almost too much to bear. His father, returned to him. His home restored, guaranteed to never fall apart again.

Hitomi...His fists clenched. Ryo looked straight ahead, and spoke one word.

--

"What-" was as far as Kenta got before being knocked over by Porygon as he flew down the hall. "Hey, what's the big idea?"

Porygon ignored him. The enemy was here, the representation of everything it opposed. But Porygon could not face it alone. It needed help.

--

That's going to cost me, Janyu thought as he and Kotemon crashed through another doorway. He squelched the thought, though. It was rare to hear Suzie scream, but he could feel the sheer terror in it. The last time was when she had happened on a burglar in their old home. Fortunately, the intruder had panicked, especially when Janyu had burst into the room, but the mortal terror Suzie had managed to pack into the scream never really left Janyu. He skidded around a corner, then stopped, horrified. Behind him, Kotemon nearly tripped over a power line on the floor, then gasped.

The figure was vaguely humanoid, female in appearance, but was covered in red with black lines. Wings had sprouted out of her back, and her fingers had lengthened to claws. It was then that Janyu realized why the figure looked so familiar. "R...Reilly?"

"No," Houndour called. "It's a D-Reaper! Suzie, I have to digivolve so I can take it down!" With a snarl, the Reilly-Reaper swung at Suzie, but was blocked as Houndour leaped in front of his Tamer. With a howl of agony, Houndour dropped to the ground.

Janyu pulled a card out. "Kotemon..."

"I am ready."

"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

"Kotemon, digivolve to...DINO HUMON!"

--

"Okay, I'm coming!" Calumon cried as he and Unown followed the seemingly berserk Porygon back up the stairs. The trio zipped up the stairs, nearly flattening Kenta and Kazu.

"Now what?"

"Sorry, Kenta," Calumon called. "Porygon says that the D-Reaper's back and he needs my help!" There was a pause as Porygon emitted some sort of high-pitched cry. "Huh? Oh, he says that you and Kazu should come to, and to bring your digimon too!"

Curious, the two boys did so, running back up to the area where the digimon were being kept. "Just couldn't stay away, huh," Metal Agumon managed, then fell asleep. The simple act of speaking was becoming more difficult for him and Veemon.

"Zip it," Kazu said, reaching down to pick up Veemon, who was also dozing off. "Calumon said that the D-Reaper was back, and it's here in the building!"

That got everyone's attention. "Rika," Renamon said. "I-" She knelt down, cursing the weakness that left her utterly useless. She watched as the two humans and the two digimon left the room, following Calumon.

They ascended several more flights of stairs before reaching another waiting area. "Alright, we're here, now what?"

"Well..." Calumon started to say, then stopped. "Well, gee, what now?" Incredulous, Kazu and Kenta watched as Porygon and Unown started 'speaking' to each other.

"Come on," Kazu half-screamed. "If the D-Reaper's here we have to do something! So make with the power up already."

"Huh?" Calumon blinked. He stopped as Porygon glowed, then changed shape.

And grew. A lot.

"Shiny..." Calumon said.

--

Nami's phone rang just as they were finishing the meeting. Ignoring the annoyed glanced she received from the other teachers, she glanced at the small screen. "Hitomi," she muttered, surprised. "Hello?"

"D-reaper!" was all that she heard Hitomi say before the connection was lost. Without a word, she got up and ran out of the room.

--

Hitomi tried not to scream as the Ryo-Reaper, which had sprouted wings, red skin, and claws, fired a blast of energy, which just missed her. "I have a clear program, Hitomi Motomiya. The digimon of this world must be subdued. And your presence here threatens that plan. Submit to my will, and it will be easier on you." Hitomi stepped back, making ready to run. "I said SUBMIT!" Arms out, the Ryo-Reaper unleased a gout of D-Reaper ooze, hoping to end the fight there.

And was knocked back by a bolt of psycic energy. "Get away from her," Eevee snarled as he hopped off of Noctowl's back and took a stance in front of Hitomi. Noctowl flew above her, already charging up a second bolt of energy.

"DIE!"

--

To Kenta's relief, his cry of 'he's gonna EAT US!' wasn't too close to a shriek. And given what Porygon had changed into, it was a safe bet that Kazu was thinking the same thing.

Porygon had transformed itself into a large draconian...bird, for want of a better description in Kenta's mind. Larger now, so much so that the far wall had been blown out as the beast's wingspan had increased. Energy crackled around its beak, a long reptilian tail slid slowly across the ground. It growled once, a long, low trill that held no menace.

"What's all the ruAAAUUGH!" Lillymon was nearly flattened as she stopped abruptly, nearly making Guardromon fall on her. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?"

"She does sound like Mimi," Kenta said, momentarily thrown off track.

"Who the heck is this Mimi? And what is this beast?"

"It's Porygon. He just digivolved," Calumon said, then stopped as Unown said something. "Oh, sorry. He just evolved."

"Why?" Kazu looked around, frustrated. "You drag us out here so we can watch a digital duck turn into some sort of giant monster, and then what?"

"This," Calumon said, glowing. "Like this, Porygon?" There was an affirmative growl from the beast, and Veemon and Metal Agumon, who had only just woken up again, also started to glow.

"I feel weird. But not bad-weird, y'know," Metal Agumon stammered.

"This is most unusual," Guardromon managed before everything went white.

"Crystal Matrix Activate!"

--

The Reilly-Reaper dismissed the two Tamers and their creatures as primary mission goals as they left the room; it took only a second to spawn a drone to dispatch them, while the main body focused on its primary goal. And for that, it needed access to the main servers.

--

Janyu watched in horror as the door he had just sealed shut bulged against the hammer-blows of the Reilly-Reaper. Behind him, Dino Humon's larger frame braced the door as best he could. "It will break through soon, Janyu," the digimon said. "And I cannot fight effectively in here." Janyu nodded. The room they were in now was much smaller; Dino Humon was forced to crouch to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling.

"Daddy? What's wrong with the computer?"

Janyu glanced at Suzie. "Not now, dear I-" He stopped, stared at the screen. Horrified, he grabbed at a phone on the small desk. "Shut down all the internet servers," he screamed into the phone, then winced as his own cell phone, forgotten in his pocket, emitted a piercing shriek. Flames licking her teeth, Houndour ripped the phone out of Janyu's pocket and hurled it against the far wall. The noise lessened, then the group watched as a purple-red form started to come out of the partially charred phone.

"Like HELL," Houndour snarled, incinerating the phone with a blast of fire. The D-reaper, partially formed, howled and disintegrated.

There was a tense silence, broken by screams outside of the room. Then: "Language!" Suzie punctuated her admonition with a light rap on Houndour's head. Janyu opened his mouth when he saw more purple-red ooze creeping under the door. Which was followed by a large blue hand ripping the back of the room out.

"Alforce Express, ready to go!" Janyu and Suzie gaped at the massive digimon, resembling a blue winged humanoid dragon.

"K...Kazu?"

--

"Not good," Terriermon said, staggering away as another tendril of red glop reached for him. The room was now under siege from another Reilly-Reaper, having come out of the wall phone in one corner of the room. Nearby, Guilmon blasted away at another part of the D-Reaper agent, the only digimon there still able to fight.

"We have to get out of here," Renamon grimaced. "If they're attacking us directly..."

"Then our partner humans may also be under attack," Gabumon snarled, backhanding another tendril, wincing as the acid-like material burned his hand.

"DRAGON FIRE CANNON!" A huge cylinder of flame blasted through one wall, obliterated the Reilly-Reaper, and proceeded to take out the next few walls as well.

"Are you nuts!" The digimon, once their sight and hearing returned, watched as a large dragon stomped into the room.

"Hey, we got 'em, didn't we?" This voice was a bit deeper, and had an odd tone to it.

"We're supposed to SAVE them, not deep fry them!"

Terriermon's left eyebrow twitched. "Okay, who are you, and why do you sound like Kenta?"

"Hey," Metal Agumon's voice replied. "I told the kid if he stuck with me, we'd go places!"

--

Nami turned a corner and nearly smashed into the metallic digimon. "Oh, pardon me, but I-" Guardromon stopped as he glanced up. Above, the red dragon/bird flew circles above Guardromon, seemingly waiting for something.

"Who....what...No, I have to find Hitomi!" Nami grabbed onto Guardromon's side, felt something break off as she did so.

--

Rumiko Nonaka stared in wonderment at the small item in her hand. "This is like..."

Lilymon sighed, wondering for the umpteenth time why whatever Porygon and Calumon had done to her had drawn her here. "Well, yeah, package delivered. Look, I don't want to seem rude, but I gotta go and fight stuff now."

"Fight? Where?" Rumiko had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if she knew where this was heading.

"Oh, over that way." Lilymon's hand pointed out across the back yard.

Rumiko gasped. Lillymon was pointing In the direction of Rika's school.

--

The Ryo Reaper expanded, attempting to engulf the human before her creatures could lend any support. Had it emotions, it would have grinned at the sight of Eevee and Noctowl making a suicidal dive for their human pet, just as the red fluid smothered her.

Seconds later, Valkyrimon exploded out of the mass, sword slicing through part of the agent's body. It responded by discarding Ryo's form entirely, becoming little more than a mass of protoplasm, multiple appendages hammering Valkyrimon from all angles.

Inside Valkyrimon, Hitomi berated herself for staying to attack. Her attacks were fine for individual targets, but barely any use against a beast like this. And already, she could feel the burning touch of the D-Reaper.

"We'll get out of this," Eevee's voice told her, though he seemed at a loss.

Fire came down, striking the D-Reaper and forcing it away. "Get away from her," a voice roared.

Valkyrimon stared back, stunned. It resembled Andromon, but this digimon had a birdlike bead on its chest, red and gold wings on its back, and a large white and red crescent on its left arm, just now reforming.

Inside, Nami Asaji looked down at the D-reaper attacking Valkyrimon, saw the injuries the smaller digimon had already sustained. No, she decided. I will not forgive this. She aimed the arm with the crescent on it at the D-Reaper. "Phoenix...ARROW!"

Next episode:  
'Rosemon 9pm...don't be late'  
(Apologies to May'n/Sheryl Nome)


End file.
